The Teaching of the Bhagavad Gita

I have already said that I loved Swami Dayananda's translation of the Bhagavad-Gita in the review of that book. This companion book is great to go along with it. One thing that confused me, however, was the the verses were translated slightly differently in this book than they were in the Bhagavad-Gita volume. That was a small distraction, however. I feel that the knowledge that is imparted by this book are well worth that (and the occasional typos and grammatical errors I found). If you like Advaita Vedanta or want to learn more about it, I highly recommend this book as a starter. The fact that the knowledge of Advaita Vedanta can be given through a story is of immense benefit. I have actually read this book three times as of the writing of this review. It's simply that worthwhile.

This is one of the best expositions of the teaching in the Bhavadad Gita. As the title implies, it is about the teaching. It is not a line by line translation of the work but consists of 20 essays built around salient verses. I would have given it 5 stars but there was a printing/binding problem. The last ten pages were out of order and four pages were repeated so I didn't get the proper finish to the work. I have reordered it to see if I can get a proper one.

I have never gotten tired of reading this version of the Bhagavad Gita. There are many different translations of this but this one I find to be the most clear and easy to understand. Really recommend to everyone.

Must Read

I love these teachings. This book is easy to read and understand. Well done!

a very helpful book to the understanding of the Gita!

An excellent excellent book

This was the first book by SwAmiji that I read, and it is one of the best things I've done.In late 2009, just days before I left from India for USA, I was given this book by an elderly gent who felt it might be of use to me someday. I politely accepted the book, while in my mind, I impolitely brushed the thought of ever reading it away. To set the record straight, I had no intention of reading it to begin with. I had a long flight ahead, and as an enthusiastic Jain, I had supposedly packed a Jain scripture to read on the airplane. Through some twist of fate- less romantcally my good karma fructifying- the books got mixed up presumably while packing, and I ended up carrying SwAmiji's 'Teaching of the Bhagavad GitA' instead.Having little choice, and no one interesting to talk to, I opened up the book to kill time. No sooner had I started reading, than I realized it was nothing short of extraordinary. For the next few hours I was entirely fixated. The exposition was brilliant, and the sheer perfection involved in giving meaning to the verses of the Gita was not to be found elsewhere.Unlike what most authors/interpreters would have you believe, the Bhagavad GitA is not a work focusing on the personality 'Krishna', but rather the truth of Krishna, which is the non dual, all pervading, unchanging, ever-lasting, limitless self- the AtmA.The Upanishads describe AtmA as sat chit Anandam- existence, consciousness, limitlessness. This very teaching clearly establishes the fact that the self cannot be two, or many, but it is one alone, and it is this self that vivifies not only you and I, but also Lord Krishna. Swami VidyAranya ji, the famous 13th century ShankarAchArya of Sringeri Peetham says that the consciousness that enlivens BrahmAji, is the same consiousness also enlivening this blade of grass.Our scriptures carefully make the distinction between information and knowledge. Knowledge- jñAnam, is not what we are used to referring in common parlance. Only information that is well assimilated in the mind can be termed as 'jñAnam'. This knowledge of the self emancipates the individual from the shackles of ignorance, and thereby all limitations we superimpose upon the limitless self. Take a transparent crystal and place it to a red flower, it will appear to share the same colour. This is adhyAsA, or superimpostion. A person may not be wary of the fact that the red-ness is only an appearance, and he may be called 'ignorant' with regard to the nature of the crystal. Similarly, to a person ignorant about his real nature, the self "appears" to take up the qualities of the non self- the manifold world of variegated objects- and will thereby also accept their limitations.Moksha is a freedom from limitations that comes from the removal of self ignorance through knowledge of the self. This is the essence of not only the Bhagavad GitA, but the entire Canon of Vedic literature. SwAmiji plays the role of a perfect Guru, as he unfolds the same.Two years down the line- and hopefully wiser- I am blessed to have read this book, and doubly blessed to have listened to his lectures in person. May the teachings of Krishna bhagwAn be kept ever alive through such mahAtmAs.hariH Om tat sat.

Not really what I wanted for my personal use, though very beautifully written

Very good book.

I am really thrilled to get simplest version of Gita.Lucid narration. Practical examples given by Swamiji are helpful in understanding Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga and Gyana yoga.English is very simple.Swamiji is touching diverse subjects from Upanishids also. .I strongly recommend this book to very Indian who is a beginner in the field of spiritual quest.Other book from the same swamiji on Vedanta is also an invaluable asset.Thanks to Amazon for the discounts and fastest delivery.

Bad printing quality

Hat alles gut geklappt.