Customer Reviews

Art Treasures of the Mahabharata: Classic Art Depicting India's Most Classic Literature

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This book is put out by ISKCON, and includes an excellent summary of the epic for those unfamiliar with it (including an overview of the Bhagavad Gita as interpreted by ISKCON). However, the title is misleading- this book does not include pictures of "classic" renditions of the Mahabharata, but photographs of s modern sculpture in New Delhi called "Glory Of India" (apparently sculpted by the author) paired with sketches by the author. So if you are looking for a short version of the epic that it fairly read-able, great; if you want classic sculpture, not so great (and the art that is show is fine, but not fabulous).

A true treasure of a book, Art Treasures of the Mahabharata combines well-told short stories from the Mahabharata with excellent photographs of an amazing work of sculpture that really brings to life this ancient and intriguing epic. As a coffee table book, it never fails to impress my guests, even those who have little knowledge of the ancient Vedic culture. The author, Bhaktisiddhanta, is obviously a highly talented individual who has produced a work that offers homage to beauty, ancient Eastern culture, God, and the soul. I feel good just having this book in my home.

The battle chronicled in the Mahabharata is one of the most celebrated events in Indian history, a legend that's been told and retold for literally thousands of years.
I've often wished I could transport back through time to see Krishna, Arjuna and the other heroes of this epic as they actually lived and breathed. While that's not possible, Bhaktisiddhanta offers an alternative: the breathtaking images in this wonderful volume. The sculptures and illustrations here bring the embattled Kurus and Pandavas to life.
I recommend this book not only to Hindus, but to yoga students who've enjoyed reading the Bhagavad Gita. Here is the story of the heartbreaking war which led Krishna to sing the Gita, and gorgeous, lifelike images of the personalities involved in the tragic events.

With Life And Its Poetry, Mary Ann Fleck Legacy presents a collection of poems composed at various stages of her life in order to express her thoughts and feelings. Her's is a remarkable and literate poetry that reaches across boundaries of background and place to touch something universal in the human experience. Salvation: I trod the path that all must go,/into the Hell of Mind's deep glow./I did not wait for earthly death/to pass the Gate of Fire expressed.//Heaven's anger does not depend/on Man's concept of body end,/but finds the faring on its path/long before the vent of its full wrath.//It's then we know none escape/the Keeper of the Holy Grate--/Lucifer and all his counterparts/do rend the best of human hearts.//Before God rips the earthly bonds,/and we transcend the body state,/He puts us to a rigid test/the Soul must pass to find a rest.//It's then we learn no future date/will send us into Eon's fate,/but Hell is here, and Heaven, too--/Eternity is all we do.