The eighteen chapters of The Bhagavad Gita (c. 500 b.c.), the glory of Sanskrit literature, encompass the whole spiritual struggle of a huma...
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Mar 12, 2010
Brad
rated it: 
I love the Bhagavad Gita. It offers something for everyone, no matter what your religous/spritual persuasion might be.
However, I had mixed feelings about this version which made me debate between three and four stars for this book.
This is Prabhupada's translation. He is best known as the Founder and/or person who brought the Hare Krishna form of Vasinavism to the United States. The only issue I take with it is that at times he can be rather controversial in his interpret More...
However, I had mixed feelings about this version which made me debate between three and four stars for this book.
This is Prabhupada's translation. He is best known as the Founder and/or person who brought the Hare Krishna form of Vasinavism to the United States. The only issue I take with it is that at times he can be rather controversial in his interpret More...
Mar 29, 2008
Robert
rated it: 
It's our expectations that make us unhappy. As Gandhi explained, the Gita is built around the idea that we are not entitled to the fruits of our actions. It's the expectations we form from our actions that lead us astray. It's enough to act according to your yoga. Simply act, without having expectations of what our action will get us.
We have two yogas we can practice: the yoga of action or the yoga of contemplation. Once you understand what your yoga is, then you can act accordingly More...
We have two yogas we can practice: the yoga of action or the yoga of contemplation. Once you understand what your yoga is, then you can act accordingly More...
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Mar 12, 2010
Andrew
rated it: 
The Bhagavad is one of the greatest works of literature. Here it is tenderly and lovingly mangled from its original by a sectarian and abusive translator who, while offering the "original" sanskrit, still departs wildly from it in his purports. What the book gains from is an immense popularity due it's publishers fervent marketing of the book, free copies, etc.
May 10, 2011
Bruce
rated it: 
The Gita, a part of the much larger Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, was no doubt based on ancient oral tradition, much recent scholarship concluding that the approximate date of written composition was the first century CE. The immediate story involves an extended philosophical conversation between the Pandava general, Arjuna, and his charioteer Krishna, who is in actuality the Supreme Being Himself, immediately before a monumental battle, a battle that Arjuna is hesitant to wage because it involv
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Jan 02, 2012
This book is a way to live life..hence will be reading it forever...
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Mar 21, 2010
Michael
rated it:
Hey, how pretentious am I? I just gave a four-star review to a fucking holy text. And now I'm going to review it. And I will swear in my review. I'm just asking for it, aren't I?
When comparing this one to the other holy books I've read and/or skimmed, I found this one quite insightful. As a professed athiest, this one probably speaks to me the most. The Bhagavad Gita is actually a section of the Mahabharata, which is, to simplify (because that's all I have researched enough to More...
When comparing this one to the other holy books I've read and/or skimmed, I found this one quite insightful. As a professed athiest, this one probably speaks to me the most. The Bhagavad Gita is actually a section of the Mahabharata, which is, to simplify (because that's all I have researched enough to More...
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Dec 22, 2010
Erik
rated it:
Being raised an atheist and being prejudiced against Christianity owing to the conservative face it presented in my hometown, I was first drawn to "religion" by the experience of altered states of consciousness and by arguments with friends who pointed me towards Eastern traditions. Being already an admirer of Gandhi and given his recommendation of the Bhagavad Gita, I read it as probably my first primary text in the Hindu tradition.
I was not impressed. The story is basic More...
I was not impressed. The story is basic More...
2 comments
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Jun 06, 2008
Katie
rated it:
I can't believe I didn't read this sooner. Philosophy major with a huge interest in religion. Anyway.
I learned a great deal from this about culture and history as much as about philosophy/religion. The introduction and glossary were especially helpful, and though the book itself is quite short, I had to spend a lot of time flipping around to make sure I was getting everything. In truth, I need to read it again, but there's a stack growing on my nightstand...
A week after finishi More...
I learned a great deal from this about culture and history as much as about philosophy/religion. The introduction and glossary were especially helpful, and though the book itself is quite short, I had to spend a lot of time flipping around to make sure I was getting everything. In truth, I need to read it again, but there's a stack growing on my nightstand...
A week after finishi More...
Nov 18, 2010
Skylar
rated it:
This is the most famous portion of the long Hindu epic the Mahabharata. In this tale, Krishna, the incarnate god, is charioteer of Arjuna. Arjuna is a great warrior, but he is torn because it is his own kinsmen and teachers who have become his enemies in battle. He hesitates, and so Krishna must goad him to action. The work takes the form of a philosophical dialogue.
When we learn about epics in American schools, we usually read The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Paradise Lost. We are th More...
When we learn about epics in American schools, we usually read The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Paradise Lost. We are th More...
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Aug 23, 2007
Byron
rated it:
Led to this book when reading the introduction to Leaves of Grass by Whitman.
Personal Summary:
Very easy to read - and relatively short (200 short pages) for a sacred text (though my current only comparison is the Bible which is incredibly long).
Basic themes are:
- Renounce the fruit of your actions. To me this means you should still plan for positive outcomes in what you attempt to do but whatever the outcome you should continue as if it never happened. If y More...
Personal Summary:
Very easy to read - and relatively short (200 short pages) for a sacred text (though my current only comparison is the Bible which is incredibly long).
Basic themes are:
- Renounce the fruit of your actions. To me this means you should still plan for positive outcomes in what you attempt to do but whatever the outcome you should continue as if it never happened. If y More...
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(3 people liked it)
Jul 31, 2007
Carie
rated it:
I spent ten years like most Americans who do yoga, using the practice as an antidote to city stress, as calisthenic goldenseal after a party weekend, and to keep my tummy flat. Since I've recently become aware of the profound tradition that informs our misguided versions of yoga practice (tell ya right now, the 1000-degree-room-thing isn't in the scripture), I'm 1) kind of embarrassed for being so ignorant, 2) on a mission to get smarter, and 3) hoping that I can convince other people of how mu
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(5 people liked it)
Jun 20, 2011
Fostergrants
rated it: 
As arrogant as it seems to review an ancient text, I gave this book 2 stars because I'm being honest about how much I did or did not enjoy reading it. If I were a religious person and believed in a Man-God, I may have enjoyed it more...but I think my main issue was my awareness that so much of the poetry that must have been there in the original language is 'lost in translation' and my Western brain is wired to be tone-deaf to the ideas that can, at best, only be guessed at or mimicked by modern
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(2 people liked it)
Jan 14, 2008
Dan
rated it:
Stephen Mitchell's renderings of the classic texts are what I call lush. This contrasts in a beautiful and satisfying way to the technically correct translations that my dad and his generation had to live with. They were stiff and scholarly with an obsessive need to be literal.
I made a brief comparison of Mitchell's version with the same passages from Swami Satchidananda's Living Gita, which I love for its commentary, and whose Gita is pleasant reading. Mitchell's version is more app More...
I made a brief comparison of Mitchell's version with the same passages from Swami Satchidananda's Living Gita, which I love for its commentary, and whose Gita is pleasant reading. Mitchell's version is more app More...
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Jan 15, 2012
Blake
rated it:
In the spirit of Krishna, I plan to devote the best part of this review to speaking of many particulars about myself and myself simply.
That I read this at all is owed less to some "spiritual quest" I'm on than an error in shipping out a book of Alice Munro's short stories that found me with this in my hands instead. After the initial confusion and a refund I got to keep the Gita, so read a little of its history prior to sitting down with it and then finally engaged.
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That I read this at all is owed less to some "spiritual quest" I'm on than an error in shipping out a book of Alice Munro's short stories that found me with this in my hands instead. After the initial confusion and a refund I got to keep the Gita, so read a little of its history prior to sitting down with it and then finally engaged.
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(3 people liked it)
Nov 22, 2011
Lucia
rated it:
This book is something more than just a simple technically correct translation of the Bhagavad Gita. The translator, being a Sanscrit scholar, mystic and a poet at the same time, managed to catch the spirit of this ancient text, giving it as much beauty of language as possible. When I read it, I see the images and feelings arising, which give me the explanation of what is being read better than any technically detailed translation could ever do.
There are no comments in this book, just More...
There are no comments in this book, just More...
Nov 05, 2011
Debbie
rated it:
In Stephen Cope's book, he alluded quite frequently to the BG. RW Emerson and HD Thoreau also quote it as an influence as well as many other Westerners. Of course the Indians and the Asians have always been inspired by it.
I found it very good, especially the first third, in which most of the philosophy about action/inaction and right/wrong are discussed. I think the presentation is very attractive and the writing lyrical.
I am currently in a discernment period regarding my own faith More...
I found it very good, especially the first third, in which most of the philosophy about action/inaction and right/wrong are discussed. I think the presentation is very attractive and the writing lyrical.
I am currently in a discernment period regarding my own faith More...
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Sep 08, 2011
Roxanne
rated it:
The Bhagavad Gita is one of India's best known scriptures. It tells the story of Arjuna, a warrior on the eve of battle who has lost heart and become uncertain as to his duty. Arjuna turns to his spiritual guide, Krishna, for answers to all the key questions of life, questions about wisdom and service and spirituality. The battle that Arjuna is about to fight is the perfect metaphor for life and the interior battle we all fight to live a life that is meaningful and fulfilling. The Gita, in essen
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Jul 28, 2011
Brian
rated it:
It is an enjoyable read, as is most of what Prabhupada wrote. This text demonstrates some of the fundamental differences in Indian and Western thought, and why the two are somewhat irreconcilable. Overall, the text, translation, and exposition are helpful to first-time readers.
The goal of the book is to produce converts to KRNSA and readers should be told that in advance.
Artwork in the text is beautiful, and has an entrancing quality in itself. Among great religious texts the BG is in the More...
The goal of the book is to produce converts to KRNSA and readers should be told that in advance.
Artwork in the text is beautiful, and has an entrancing quality in itself. Among great religious texts the BG is in the More...
Mar 21, 2011
Keegan
rated it:
An exquisite discussion about war that leads into a discussion about all thoughts and actions, how to think and act rightly. Of all religious texts, this one most closely encourages the way I strive to live, which I have come to through secular beliefs. I think that when reading the text, it is extremely important to always keep in mind that Krishna is the trickster god in this mythology, so when he implores Arjun to constantly follow him, he is actually telling him to constantly be changing and
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Aug 15, 2010
Sarah
rated it:
This is the ancient yogic text in a dialogue format btwn god and a man, about the nature of the soul, in 18 teachings. The man is in a chariot and the god is his chariot driver, and this is a dialogue that takes place before a great battle, in the noman's land between the two armies, an the moral dilemma the man is facing with his family and people on one side and his cousins/family on the other side. The god explains the eternal nature of the soul, that it never dies, that this mortal life is
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Apr 24, 2010
Dennis
rated it:
Nikhilananda, Swami. Bhagavad Gita, The: Translated from the Sanskrit, with Notes, Comments, and Introduction by Swami Nikhilananda (1944; 6th printing 1979) *****
Fine translation with valuable commentary
This is an especially good translation for those with some knowledge of yoga or Hinduism or Vedanta. Rather than employ artificialities like "discipline" or "duty" or "the Supreme God," Nikhilananda retains in his translation many Sanskrit words More...
Fine translation with valuable commentary
This is an especially good translation for those with some knowledge of yoga or Hinduism or Vedanta. Rather than employ artificialities like "discipline" or "duty" or "the Supreme God," Nikhilananda retains in his translation many Sanskrit words More...
Apr 24, 2010
Dennis
rated it:
Mitchell, Stephen. Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation (2000) *****
Intelligent, accessible and beautifully presented
First of all this is a beautiful book. The design by Barbara Sturman in which the text is presented in a handsome wine/purple font set in wide margins with the chapter titles in a contemporary font of soft vermillion suggests reverence for the Gita while hinting of a twenty-first century Western appreciation. There is a ribbon sown into the binder for keeping your More...
Intelligent, accessible and beautifully presented
First of all this is a beautiful book. The design by Barbara Sturman in which the text is presented in a handsome wine/purple font set in wide margins with the chapter titles in a contemporary font of soft vermillion suggests reverence for the Gita while hinting of a twenty-first century Western appreciation. There is a ribbon sown into the binder for keeping your More...
Apr 24, 2010
Dennis
rated it:
Miller, Barbara Stoler. Bhagavad Gita, The: Krishna's Counsel in Time of War (1986; 1991)***
Not the best, but still not bad
Professor Miller's is not one of the better translations of the Gita. We can see this immediately by her choice of subtitle, "Krishna's Counsel in Time of War," which works against the real significance of what Krishna is saying and misses the profound message of the Gita entirely. If the Gita were only advice about how to act during war, it cou More...
Not the best, but still not bad
Professor Miller's is not one of the better translations of the Gita. We can see this immediately by her choice of subtitle, "Krishna's Counsel in Time of War," which works against the real significance of what Krishna is saying and misses the profound message of the Gita entirely. If the Gita were only advice about how to act during war, it cou More...
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Apr 24, 2010
Dennis
rated it:
Easwaran, Eknath. Bhagavad Gita, The (1985; 2000) *****
Clear, natural translation with an insightful preface
This is an especially natural and graceful translation somewhere between poetry and prose by a man who really understands the message of the Gita. This can be seen from reading Eknath Easwaran's wise and penetrating Preface written especially for this, the Vintage Spiritual Classics Edition, edited by John F. Thornton and Susan B. Varenne for Vintage Books.
Ea More...
Clear, natural translation with an insightful preface
This is an especially natural and graceful translation somewhere between poetry and prose by a man who really understands the message of the Gita. This can be seen from reading Eknath Easwaran's wise and penetrating Preface written especially for this, the Vintage Spiritual Classics Edition, edited by John F. Thornton and Susan B. Varenne for Vintage Books.
Ea More...
Apr 04, 2010
Oleg
rated it:
I have been meaning to dig into the Bhagavad-Gita ever since I took a fascinating East Asian philosophy class in community college several years ago (2003?) and here I have - finally, on Easter of all days - done it.
This is the first translation I've read of this Indian epic and I must say that I am enamored with Barbara Stoler Miller's rendering of Sanskrit into English. The poetry is powerful and full of meaning (which is further explained by the excellent contextualizing introduc More...
This is the first translation I've read of this Indian epic and I must say that I am enamored with Barbara Stoler Miller's rendering of Sanskrit into English. The poetry is powerful and full of meaning (which is further explained by the excellent contextualizing introduc More...
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Mar 29, 2010
Angelia
rated it:
Though debate exists as to whether The Bhagvad Gita is an original part of the Mahabharata, it clearly is a stand-alone piece either way. Its focus is simple: Arjuna does not want to fight and kill members of his family; Krishna, avatar of Vishnu, explains that Arjuna must because it is his dharma as a warrior to fight the "just" fight. The Gita is, of course, far more complex than that. Arjuna's apprehension is understandable and even commendable; yet set in the context of the caste s
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Jul 06, 2009
Max
rated it:
I wanted to give this a higher star rating, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
In several respects, this book is an absolute classic, not least of which that in which it is, first and foremost, the flagship book of the Hindu religion. (I had tried to tackle a religious edition (Bhagavad Gita: As It Is, that with commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, which my younger brother gave me, it having in turn been given to him by the bass player of the hardcore band Glassjaw) More...
In several respects, this book is an absolute classic, not least of which that in which it is, first and foremost, the flagship book of the Hindu religion. (I had tried to tackle a religious edition (Bhagavad Gita: As It Is, that with commentary by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, which my younger brother gave me, it having in turn been given to him by the bass player of the hardcore band Glassjaw) More...
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Apr 19, 2010
Jonathan
rated it:
There were sections where I couldn't help but smile. And there were sections where I couldn't help but cringe.
I have friends who are Hindu. And this is where they lay their hope. In human strivings to God they put their hope. It is a fruitless hope. It is the same hope of Muslims, Jews, of (probably) the majority of Catholics and of many Protestants.
These claim to understand the holiness of God, but if there is evil, if we have sinned against the Infinitely Holy Go More...
I have friends who are Hindu. And this is where they lay their hope. In human strivings to God they put their hope. It is a fruitless hope. It is the same hope of Muslims, Jews, of (probably) the majority of Catholics and of many Protestants.
These claim to understand the holiness of God, but if there is evil, if we have sinned against the Infinitely Holy Go More...
Jul 28, 2011
Tim
rated it:
There are overarching themes in any of the great world traditions that can be practiced universally. In fact, this, to me, is the mark of a great tradition…that it contains truths that are universal. Truth is truth, and truth is love. I am drawn to scriptures like the Gita because it does not reject other traditions that use a different route to arrive at the same location. The Gita teaches practices for the here and now, for the religious or not, that will lead to happiness and fulfillment. It
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