The Bhagavad Gita
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- Create Date：2021-06-01 08:53:05
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Eknath Easwaran
- ISBN：1586380192
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Summary
The Bhagavad Gita is the best known of all the Indian scriptures， and Eknath Easwaran's best-selling translation is reliable， readable， and profound。
Easwaran's 55-page introduction places the Bhagavad Gita in its historical setting， and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings。 Chapter introductions clarify key concepts， and notes and a glossary explain Sanskrit terms。
Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition in India， and learned Sanskrit from a young age。 He was a professor of English literature before coming to the West on a Fulbright scholarship。 A gifted teacher， he is recognized as an authority on the Indian classics and world mysticism。
The Bhagavad Gita opens， dramatically， on a battlefield， as the warrior Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide， Sri Krishna， for answers to the fundamental questions of life。 Yet， as Easwaran points out， the Gita is not what it seems - it's not a dialogue between two mythical figures at the dawn of Indian history。 "The battlefield is a perfect backdrop， but the Gita's subject is the war within， the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious。"
Arjuna's struggle in the Bhagavad Gita is acutely modern。 He has lost his way on the battlefield of life and turns to find the path again by asking direct， uncompromising questions of his spiritual guide， Sri Krishna， the Lord himself。 Krishna replies in 700 verses of sublime instruction on living and dying， loving and working， and the nature of the soul。
Easwaran shows the Gita's relevance to us today as we strive， like Arjuna， to do what is right。
"No one in modern times is more qualified - no， make that 'as qualified' - to translate the epochal Classics of Indian Spirituality than Eknath Easwaran。 And the reason is clear。 It is impossible to get to the heart of those classics unless you live them， and he did live them。 My admiration of the man and his works is boundless。" - Huston Smith， author of The World's Religions。
Easwaran's 55-page introduction places the Bhagavad Gita in its historical setting， and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings。 Chapter introductions clarify key concepts， and notes and a glossary explain Sanskrit terms。
Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition in India， and learned Sanskrit from a young age。 He was a professor of English literature before coming to the West on a Fulbright scholarship。 A gifted teacher， he is recognized as an authority on the Indian classics and world mysticism。
The Bhagavad Gita opens， dramatically， on a battlefield， as the warrior Arjuna turns in anguish to his spiritual guide， Sri Krishna， for answers to the fundamental questions of life。 Yet， as Easwaran points out， the Gita is not what it seems - it's not a dialogue between two mythical figures at the dawn of Indian history。 "The battlefield is a perfect backdrop， but the Gita's subject is the war within， the struggle for self-mastery that every human being must wage if he or she is to emerge from life victorious。"
Arjuna's struggle in the Bhagavad Gita is acutely modern。 He has lost his way on the battlefield of life and turns to find the path again by asking direct， uncompromising questions of his spiritual guide， Sri Krishna， the Lord himself。 Krishna replies in 700 verses of sublime instruction on living and dying， loving and working， and the nature of the soul。
Easwaran shows the Gita's relevance to us today as we strive， like Arjuna， to do what is right。
"No one in modern times is more qualified - no， make that 'as qualified' - to translate the epochal Classics of Indian Spirituality than Eknath Easwaran。 And the reason is clear。 It is impossible to get to the heart of those classics unless you live them， and he did live them。 My admiration of the man and his works is boundless。" - Huston Smith， author of The World's Religions。
Reviews
Grant Jossi
，
I did not love the translation I was reading， but the mythology is wonderful， of course。 Might try again with a different translation。
Rafael Rodrigues
，
Ao contrário do que pode ser pensar， este e um livro de fácil leitura mas com profundo nível de interpretação。 Um manual da vida que deve ser relido várias vezes
Dylan Hobrecht
，
GITA This book is about life。 The struggle of our civilization。 And the fire in our hearts。 You will know the path of the human race。This is powerful。 I enjoyed the storyline。 You will not understand without proper premise。 I have used this book for the gita by itself; even though there is a translation at the beginning。 I'm sure this will help you。 Powerful。 I can't explain how powerful。 Understanding the sun will one day go out。 And it's our duty to further the human race。 This is definitely o GITA This book is about life。 The struggle of our civilization。 And the fire in our hearts。 You will know the path of the human race。This is powerful。 I enjoyed the storyline。 You will not understand without proper premise。 I have used this book for the gita by itself; even though there is a translation at the beginning。 I'm sure this will help you。 Powerful。 I can't explain how powerful。 Understanding the sun will one day go out。 And it's our duty to further the human race。 This is definitely one of my favorites。Personally I didn't like the introduction。 I just wanted the Gita because I had taken a philosphy course。 But it wouldn't hurt learning again。READ THIS BOOK！ 。。。more
Koleś
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Started reading it because I was curious。 In the end， it's just another religious book， a sacred text with a set of rules。 You could find similarities to other religious texts， especially those that are the base of many eastern religions and eastern philosophy。Probably I was not prepared enough to understand it and its context， did not pay enough attention - but I am aware of my ignorance。 I did not feel the need to fully grasp it， just wanted to have a general idea about one of Hinduism sacred Started reading it because I was curious。 In the end， it's just another religious book， a sacred text with a set of rules。 You could find similarities to other religious texts， especially those that are the base of many eastern religions and eastern philosophy。Probably I was not prepared enough to understand it and its context， did not pay enough attention - but I am aware of my ignorance。 I did not feel the need to fully grasp it， just wanted to have a general idea about one of Hinduism sacred text。 。。。more
Benji
，
The explanatory text was helpful as a guide through the Gita。 Some of the concepts here are quite foreign to me （like gunas for instance， which I'm still not sure I have fully grasped）， but some of the most profound parts of the book require no explanation。 In the Gita I found some of the most compelling descriptions of God and oneness I have found in any text I've read so far。 The advice on how to live your life was valuable too， but I'd love to be able to explore it further in my own dialog wi The explanatory text was helpful as a guide through the Gita。 Some of the concepts here are quite foreign to me （like gunas for instance， which I'm still not sure I have fully grasped）， but some of the most profound parts of the book require no explanation。 In the Gita I found some of the most compelling descriptions of God and oneness I have found in any text I've read so far。 The advice on how to live your life was valuable too， but I'd love to be able to explore it further in my own dialog with Krishna。The text is fairly short and well worth a read for anyone interested in these sorts of things。 。。。more
Tammy Berry
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Pleasant readingThis was a well written easy read。 Providing clarification to the Gita and ways to live a peace filled life style。
James Bailey
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Good as a quick way to learn about Hinduism， shows the expected similarity to Buddhism and an unexpected similarity to Stoicism。But， didn't hold my attention or speak to me directly。 Good as a quick way to learn about Hinduism， shows the expected similarity to Buddhism and an unexpected similarity to Stoicism。But， didn't hold my attention or speak to me directly。 。。。more
Daniel Aguilar
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I enjoyed it quite a lot， specially the last part where one can recognise pretty clearly the main precepts from hinduism and buddhism about living a good life （and dying a good death）， reducing or eliminating suffering and the idea of becoming （or consciously recognising being） one with the universe。However I found this book to be quite cryptic in general; I constantly had the feeling that， underneath each word， there was a whole field of knowledge that I was missing， beign able to perceive just I enjoyed it quite a lot， specially the last part where one can recognise pretty clearly the main precepts from hinduism and buddhism about living a good life （and dying a good death）， reducing or eliminating suffering and the idea of becoming （or consciously recognising being） one with the universe。However I found this book to be quite cryptic in general; I constantly had the feeling that， underneath each word， there was a whole field of knowledge that I was missing， beign able to perceive just a shadow of it。 This edition includes， page by page， a sanscrit text and a spanish translation。 I think I will look for a commented version that helps/guides in deeper understanding。 。。。more
Dibakar Deb✌️
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In the moments before a great battle， the dialogue sets out the important lessons Arjuna must learn to change the outcome of the war he is to fight， and culminates in Krishna revealing to the warrior his true cosmic form， counselling him to search for the universal perfection of life。 Ranging from instructions on yoga postures to dense moral discussion， the Gita is one of the most important Hindu texts， as well as serving as a practical guide to living well。🙏❤️🙏
DropOfOcean
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Not rating this with stars。 It was rather quick read even though I read it in small parts。 I have bit mixed feelings about the the book。 There are some ”good stuff” and then there are some stuff that I wouldn’t really label as such。 This book has been written & edited by many writers in the ancient history so it does explain some imbalances。
Julei
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Free of passions and desires。 is。not。easy。
Hl
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An easily accessible translation。 Don't be tempted to skip the introduction - it clarifies a lot of common misconceptions around some important Sanskrit terms （yoga， karma， dharma etc。） and key concepts covered in the Gita。 An easily accessible translation。 Don't be tempted to skip the introduction - it clarifies a lot of common misconceptions around some important Sanskrit terms （yoga， karma， dharma etc。） and key concepts covered in the Gita。 。。。more
Prashob
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I believe the sacred texts like Gita were written in the times when the science was not well developed and hence the sages created a pragmated belief system through collection of poetic verses although with very noble intentions and to persuade the behaviour of positivity and altruism。Still in certain areas it has substantial brainwashing such as the only way to escape karma is to worhip krishna and those who don't worship are doomed to suffer for various lifetimes，also Krishna provokes Arjuna t I believe the sacred texts like Gita were written in the times when the science was not well developed and hence the sages created a pragmated belief system through collection of poetic verses although with very noble intentions and to persuade the behaviour of positivity and altruism。Still in certain areas it has substantial brainwashing such as the only way to escape karma is to worhip krishna and those who don't worship are doomed to suffer for various lifetimes，also Krishna provokes Arjuna to kill his kins in war with no mercy although he could have choosen the path of peace。Even being an atheist i liked the book lot due the amount of scrutiny done to understand the nature of reality and human behaviour in olden days（3000years back）。 。。。more
Devesh Tiwari
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Amazing translation of Gita。 This is a book I will read fully every year and will keep coming back to its chapters whenever I am lost and need guidance。 Most religious books are indirect， they have been passed on through someone usually an englightened divine being but Gita is direct from God with no one in the middle。 This is what makes it special。 I was introduced to Eknath's translation in My Gita by Devdutt Patnaik。 Eknaths work makes Gita more accessible to people who want to absorb the lea Amazing translation of Gita。 This is a book I will read fully every year and will keep coming back to its chapters whenever I am lost and need guidance。 Most religious books are indirect， they have been passed on through someone usually an englightened divine being but Gita is direct from God with no one in the middle。 This is what makes it special。 I was introduced to Eknath's translation in My Gita by Devdutt Patnaik。 Eknaths work makes Gita more accessible to people who want to absorb the learnings directly without having to go through tedious sanskrit translations and elaborate descriptions。 Most of us need practical advice that can help us navigate through life problems， face it's challenges， and are looking for a recipe， a way to do that。 This is what Eknath's translation does。 A must read book。 。。。more
Matt Mccarty
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A very accessible translation and explanation I have tried to read other translations of the Bahgavad Gita and always struggled。 This translation， along with the notes and explanations made so much sense。 Finally！
ELJIE MAE E OMANDAM
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super grateful to be able to read the Gita， and I know I will be rereading this text for as long as I live ❤️ the fantastic thing about texts like the Gita or the tao te ching is that they are great literary works as they are spiritual， so even if you're not religious this is still worth reading！！！！！！ super grateful to be able to read the Gita， and I know I will be rereading this text for as long as I live ❤️ the fantastic thing about texts like the Gita or the tao te ching is that they are great literary works as they are spiritual， so even if you're not religious this is still worth reading！！！！！！ 。。。more
Filip
，
The Bhagavad Gita is considered to be one of the main holy scriptures for Hinduism。 It's fairly short and quite insightful， but I feel I'd have to pause and reflect much more to be able to grasp all the concepts that are being discussed。 Several things flew over my head and it would've been useful with more context and additional explanations at times。 As an atheist， I'm mostly reading it out of curiosity and find it fascinating that such an old text still can be relevant - humans haven't change The Bhagavad Gita is considered to be one of the main holy scriptures for Hinduism。 It's fairly short and quite insightful， but I feel I'd have to pause and reflect much more to be able to grasp all the concepts that are being discussed。 Several things flew over my head and it would've been useful with more context and additional explanations at times。 As an atheist， I'm mostly reading it out of curiosity and find it fascinating that such an old text still can be relevant - humans haven't changed much。 。。。more
Unity
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Awesome
Samuel Saul Richardson
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This has been the best book of an Eastern religion that I've read。 It did a great job drawing similarities and trying to explain translations。 The first several chapters were filled with great wisdom that I found very similar to some Buddhist scripture but then later chapters really dove into Hindu theology that at times was difficult for me to grasp。 I will certainly be interested in reading more about this religion。 Interesting point is that many of the eastern religious books I have struggled This has been the best book of an Eastern religion that I've read。 It did a great job drawing similarities and trying to explain translations。 The first several chapters were filled with great wisdom that I found very similar to some Buddhist scripture but then later chapters really dove into Hindu theology that at times was difficult for me to grasp。 I will certainly be interested in reading more about this religion。 Interesting point is that many of the eastern religious books I have struggled with is that they give words and ideas that can be used for some of the non-English words but for completely understandable reasons continue using the non-English words in the translations because many concepts don't translate very well。 It makes me reflect on how the Bible has tons of interpretation problems because Christianity did the exact opposite of that in its various translations。 🤔 #SelfTaughtReligion #Hinduism 。。。more
Addy Mims
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loved reading the Bhagavad Gita。 Read for my philosophy of yoga course， but I received the benefits in my own spiritual practice。
Joey Collier
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Some good nuggets of wisdom in this one even if some of the teachings seem a little contradictory
Roy Koshy
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As an athiest who does like to study various religions， I found this to be an accessible， concise and engaging read， great intro to this seminal Hindu text。
Jessie Feinstein
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“It is better to do your own duty badly than to perfectly do another’s” - my favorite quote from this piece。 I also love the lesson of acting while practicing non-attachment to the consequence of that action。 Many great lessons in this work on how to be a virtuous person。
Pat
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The style is a challenge。 It's deep。 It's complicated。 It's good。 The style is a challenge。 It's deep。 It's complicated。 It's good。 。。。more
Kimberly
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I love this book as a spiritual and social guide。 I have read the Gita in several transliterations， and this is my favorite。 The pre-chapter explanations make reading the poetry much more fluid and accessible。
Manoj Manduva
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Simple and succinct。 I loved the introductions by Diana as well。
B Michael
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A fabulous guide to living that is easily seen as metaphor and not full of easily confused parables that will always be misunderstood。I will be studying this work again and again， as the very first reading has brought me immense peace and relaxation。 My burdens are weightless。
Eli
，
A very impressive masterpiece。Very good translation and chapter by chapter introductions。As an orthodox Jew， I was surprised by the universality of the mystical teaching which are common to many God seekers from all backgrounds。
Tim
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“However men try to reach me， I return their love with my love; whatever path they may travel， it leads to me in the end。” Not sure why I decided to finally pick this book up， but it had been on my list for a while。 It is not very long at all （under 200 pages and a poem that does not fill up a lot of the page） so you could read it in a couple of hours。 However， it is not a book that is meant to just be read through。 I may get some of this wrong as I am not Hindu， but the Gita is their scripture “However men try to reach me， I return their love with my love; whatever path they may travel， it leads to me in the end。” Not sure why I decided to finally pick this book up， but it had been on my list for a while。 It is not very long at all （under 200 pages and a poem that does not fill up a lot of the page） so you could read it in a couple of hours。 However， it is not a book that is meant to just be read through。 I may get some of this wrong as I am not Hindu， but the Gita is their scripture and so it is meant to be read and reread and meditated on and then applied to your life: “meditate deeply upon it， and then act as you think best。” tThere were many fascinating ideas in this poem。 A few of the main ones were action without focusing on the fruits or results， letting go of attachment， the goal of escaping the birth and death cycle， and seeking wisdom （specifically knowledge of Krishna）。 I also found it interesting how the Gita connects to other books I have read。 For instance I definitely saw the influence on The Wheel of Time series。 I also made many connections to my religion of Christianity and how what Krishna said had many similarities to Christ’s teachings。 I read that Krishna is no respecter of persons， he is the beginning and the end， he promises treasures in heaven， etc。 Now that is my Western Christian interpretation （or bias） of reading the Gita， yet Krishna says something that makes my reading not wrong。 “All those who worship other gods…are really worshiping me， even if they don’t know it。” tDefinitely recommend picking this up。 。。。more
Jam Pilarca
，
Daunting as it may be to read scripture well over 5，000 years old， I found the Gita has a remarkably simple message: that in all beings there is an enduring goodness that makes everyone inherently worthy of love。 The Gita differs in that it advocates for love through action as opposed to asceticism， diving into life with arms and heart wide open。A seminal text on yoga and overall being a better person。 One of those books that no one is ever really finished with， something to constantly revisit t Daunting as it may be to read scripture well over 5，000 years old， I found the Gita has a remarkably simple message: that in all beings there is an enduring goodness that makes everyone inherently worthy of love。 The Gita differs in that it advocates for love through action as opposed to asceticism， diving into life with arms and heart wide open。A seminal text on yoga and overall being a better person。 One of those books that no one is ever really finished with， something to constantly revisit throughout a lifetime。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Bhagavad Gita
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Bhagavad Gita&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Bhagavad Gita&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0