Amazing Secrets of the Bhagavad Gita

by Ed Viswanathan

• What is the Bhagavad Gita?• Where does the Bhagavad Gita appear in the Hindu scriptures?• What makes the Bhagavad Gita the most important scripture in the world?• Was the Mahabharata War a symbolic war?• What are sin and salvation according to Lord Krishna?• What does Lord Krishna say about birth, death, and reincarnation in the Bhagavad Gita?• Why is the Bhagavad Gita’s point of view so unusual?• Does Lord Krishna mention heaven and hell in the Bhagavad Gita?• What is the final message of the Bhagavad Gita?Amazing Secrets of the Bhagavad Gita answers many such questions and more. It is not yet another translation of or commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, but a topic-wise summary of the ideas and concepts found in the Gita. Topics as diverse as salvation, karma, chakras, yoga, abortion, creation and annihilation of the universe, how to deal with stress, how to pray, gambling, what is an avatar, and others are discussed and explained for the lay reader in a simple and effective manner. The lively conversational style between a grandfather and his eighteen-year-old grandson makes it an easy and engrossing read.

Genres: Religion

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2016

Reviews

[Abhilash Ruhela · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many books that are releasing these days based on Hinduism, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata or Ramayana in the author’s own version. I am specifically attracted towards this genre because of my interest of knowing about my religion in the simplest language. I have tried reading the Bhagavad Gita written by some renowned sages but failed to understand the meaning and its implementation in my life which made me buy these books which were written for people of 21st century to understand what the holy book is actually trying to say and how can we implement it in our day to day life. The recent book that I read in the same genre in the quest of understanding my religion better is “Amazing Secrets Of The Bhagavad Gita” written by ED Viswanathan.

The cover page itself consists of many questions that we have in our mind about our religion and what exactly is the right path to walk upon. And then the book is written answering all these questions. It is narrated as a conversation between Grandfather-grandson where grandson is asking questions about Gita and grandfather answers them all in the easiest possible manner so that the meaning can be understood by the child. The book starts with making us understand the several scriptures present in our religion and how Gita is one among them. The author also tells why Gita is the most referred book and when does it actually occurs during the war of Mahabharata. Who have written the book and how is also told to us. Only after clearing the basics did author move towards the prominent questions directly based on Gita.

The book is written in a very easy language and author has been successful in making us learn many things about our religion. Many things are covered in this book which makes the reader more than happy as some books are very small talking about only one aspect of Gita. After every topic is covered, author has summarized the main quotes in the end for us to remember them and refer them if in case we do not have much time to read this book again. The author have not written this book in the most popular format of giving the Sanskrit sentence first and then translating it word to word. He has just kept narrating it as a speech which makes it easier to read and understand. I give this book 4.5 star out of 5.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA – VEERU!!!

[Anil Swarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remarkably well written book on Bhagvat Gita. The author does well to present complex ideas and the philosophy outlined in Gita in a manner that it becomes intelligible to the common man. In the conversation between the grandfather and grandson, the author manages to clarify a number of doubts relating to contentious issues like "sati" and the perceived role of women in Hindu scriptures. He categorically states that "There is no mention of Sati or Suttee anywhere in Manu Smriti"

[Neha Tomar · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read if you want to know more about Hindu Culture and of course the Bhagavad Gita. It's not just sharing learnings of the great Hindu scripture, instead it gives you complete view of the Hindu culture and it's relevance in relation to other religions and communities as well.

Read my review of the book here: http://bit.ly/bg_rev

[SUBRATA DATTA · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a school text book.
Better still, Amazing Secrets of the Bhagavad Gita reads like those ‘Made Easy’ books that young men and women use to succeed in the competitive examinations to secure government jobs.
However, the book is an interesting introduction to the Bhagavad Gita for the beginners, even if somewhat facile.

[Vinamra Kumar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a 100 page book had the author not decided to repeat everything thrice.

A waste of time. Read the original Bhagavad Gita instead.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book feels like it was written with an underlying purpose of comparing Hinduism to other religions and prove along the way that Hinduism is better than the rest. Statements like “Hinduism is not an organised religion like Islam or Christianity” “No statement in Hinduism scriptures start with ‘Thou shall not’” and “There are no statements saying you have to be a Hindu to attain salvation” seem like the author wanted to impress the reader about the religion through comparison instead of educate them on the various enlightening and glorious facts about Hinduism and the Bhagavata Gita itself. The author could’ve conveyed exactly the same positive things he was trying to say without making these not so subtle comparisons (especially contradicting his very own lines throughout the book that say "The Hindu scriptures never state the we Hindus alone have all the answers" and "Hindus have no problem accepting Jesus as the Son of God." It was confusing and unnecessary.

Here’s an exact quote from this book: While other religions burnt and kill people for disagreeing with what the religious hierarchy taught, Hinduism allows and supports an atheistic philosophy.

Now the SAME sentence could have been conveyed as just “Hinduism allows and supports an atheistic philosophy”. You might say the author has the right to convey his thoughts and findings in any manner he chooses, but that’s where I draw the line between a manipulative author and a factual one. Here’s another line: “Not even once does Lord Krishna say: “You will go to hell if you do not follow me or obey me” like what we read in other religious scriptures”. This guileful writing style is so obviously prevalent throughout the book that it did not allow me to relish it as much as I would have otherwise. As much as I love being Hindu and reading about the principles of my Dharma, I have zero tolerance for manipulative, radical and triggering contexts of the same.

Another qualm I had with this book is that several things are repeated in consecutive pages and chapters. Mind you not in a paraphrased way. The same line is repeated several times in very unstructured chapters and sometimes a line from the middle of a paragraph is taken and blown up to cover the entire sheet in the next page. I really don’t see the point of that apart from wanting to fill pages to sell a seemingly thicker book.

Skip this one and pick up a better translation of the beauty that is our celebrated Bhagavata Gita.

[Books With Aartika · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought provoking,inspiring book about Bhagavad Gita which should be read by everyone.

Book- Amazing Secrets of the bhagavad gita.( recently translated to Malayalam)
Author - Ed Viswanathan
Publication - RUPA Publication
Pages- 302
Language - English
Ratings-⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description:

▫️For the very first time, the “amazing secrets of the Bhagavad Gita “ are discussed in a lively dialogue between a grandfather and his American-born grandson which is very unique way.

▫️Lord Krishna never judges or orders anyone to behave a certain way in the Bhagavad Gita. He only shows us the pros and cons of every issue and leaves to each of us the question of whether to follow his teachings or not.

▫️He did not even influence Arjunas free will, and throughout the Bhagavad Gita,you will not come across even one line starting with "Thou shalt not."

▫️This book taught me what Lord Krishna meant by Sin and how to deal with it.

▫️This is a very unique book about the Bhagavad Gita. Totally different from any other Bhagavad Gita translations that I have read so far.

This book is SUBJECT WISE since Lord Krishna has discussed more than 27 subjects such as Sankhya philosophy, Vedanta , Selfless actions, Birth, death, reincarnation , SIN, Varna System ( not caste) Ashramas, etc in the BHAGAVAD GITA.

▫️Instead of explaining each verse, chapter by chapter, this book gives a summary of ideas and concepts found within the Bhagavad Gita, organized according to each topic.


What I love about this book is the fact that it is easy to read. Anyone will understand and benefit from the concepts and good writing. I am very grateful for the insights. You can tell the author is knowledgeable.

[Nandani · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book i have ever read. This book gives so much knowledge and an insight on Bhagavat Gita. The chapters are divided into questions and the way it is answered is so good thr description the knowledge it gives is surely very enlightening. Love this book its those kind of books which you can read again and again and still always learn something new. A must read i recommend everyone to read this once 👍🏻👍🏻❤❤❤

[Koushik Kurnool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book
This book tries to explain the concepts from Bhagavad Gita in a simple manner. Very well alligned and which gives you some idea of Bhagavad Gita. There are lot of repetitions which may be exaggerating or boring for someone but the main intention of author is to say the importance of that words.For full review check out here
https://koushikswarup.blogspot.com/20...

[Amit Trivedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent account of certain observations and perspectives on Bhagavad Geeta. The book also goes beyond Geeta and discusses certain topics related to Hinduism, religion, spirituality and life in general. The book also draws many parallels from Christianity and Judaism.
Since it is in conversational form, it is very easy to read.

[Chaahat Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book which can summarise and give you quick facts from Bhagavad Gita then definitely pick this book. It has so many facts in question answer form in just few lines and lots of tables to clearly explain the facts. It’s perfect for people who do not want to read the whole Bhagavad Gita but want to learn about it.

[Anupriya Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read and and interesting take on the hopy scriptures, the best part was the prospective included of the younger generation, instead of trying to force to follow the teachings. The author tried best to understand the prospective and answer accordingly to make it more understanding and acceptable

[Srinivas Kantheti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nicely explained around concepts

Easy for kids to read and understand since it is around concepts and not around chapters. Some aspects need to be qualified saying they are authors own opinions though

[Prathyusha J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! I read this book at right time to have control on my thoughts and actions.
Aham Brahmasmi!!!

[Srinivasan Nanduri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read

[ED Viswanathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book with 63 chapters and hundreds of questions and answers uncovers the gems of The Bhagavad Gita in most simple words and in the form of a conversation between a Grandfather and his American-born Grandson.

(www.amazinggita.com)

https://www.facebook.com/rupapublicat...

This book instead of translating every verse in every chapter in the Bhagavad Gita, this book discusses the entire Bhagavad Gita subject wise.

So instead of reading the entire Bhagavad Gita, one can read this book and understand about every subject such as Sin, Salvation, Heaven, Hell, surrender to God, Raja Yoga, Pranayama, Atman, reincarnation etc.


It is true this book has also discussed about three subjects which has nothing to do with Bhagavad Gita, mainly about homosexuality, Suttee and abortion since the grandson is an 18 year old boy studying in United States.

Hindu children are always curious about these subjects and that is the reason why I feel the author dealt with those subjects.


All other chapters are exclusively dedicated to the Bhagavad Gita and what Lord Krishna has to say about each subject such as

What is the Bhagavad Gita?
Where does the Bhagavad Gita appear in the Hindu scriptures?
What makes the Bhagavad Gita the most important scripture in the world?
Was the Mahabharata War a symbolic war? Who wrote Bhagavad Gita?
What are sin and salvation according to Lord Krishna?
Is Lord Krishna the true God? What Atman? What is an Avatar?
What is Aum(Om)?
What does Lord Krishna say about caste system?
Why did Lord Krishna give utmost importance to Sankhya philosophy? What do U mean surrendering to God? What did Lord Krishna say about birth, death and reincarnation? Why did Lord Krishna give utmost importance to Raja Yoga?
Who is a Guru according to Lord Krishna?
What did Lord Krishna say about five senses?
What is Nishkama Karma?
Why did Lord Krishna ask Arjuna to become a Yogi?
Why Lord Krishna say Ashrama Dharma is very important?


According to the author this book is aimed at people between the age of 18 and 30 who normally do not have countless hours to study the Bhagavad Gita.

[Merril Anil · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The book is more like a reference book on basic points of Bhagavad Gita. What I like is the fact that the author, to make it easy on its readers have not gone into long paragraphs after paragraphs of description but through charts and tables, he has clearly marked out the important points so that anybody who picks up this book can take back a lot of facts about the Bhagavad Gita."

Check out the full review on

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/li...

[Anuraag Srivastava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Key tenets of Gita explained in very simple and common words, excellent read.