Customer Reviews

Bhagavad Gita

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had the honor of being Mr. de Nicolas' student in St. Augustine, FL. His translation of the Gita is perhaps the clearest, most human translation I have read. The focus is on the _doing_, the epistemology of action, instead of the words that so often get in the way. If you are looking for a meaningful, comprehensible, translation done by someone who is intimate with the philosophy and the language, look no further.

The Bhagavad-Gita is an intriguing and very wise book, even for those such as myself who do not really subscribe to an Indian philosophy or religion (indeed, I'm fascinated by some of the parallels between the Chinese concept of Tao and the Hindu concept of Brahman). This translation has a smooth feel to it, and while I am not able to comment on how precise this translation is, it flowed nicely and was enjoyable to read.

I do have one gripe, however: this book gets categorized as "Religion" (and indeed, that is what it says on the back cover), while this particular edition has a distinctly philosophical aim to it. The rendition of the Gita itself does not have this slant, but the other parts of the book do. The translator, Antonio de Nicolas, is a philosophy professor, and his foreward and introduction are rather heavy on academic philosophical mumbo-jumbo. I didn't realize when I bought this book that the subtitle, "The Ethics of Decision-Making", meant "ethics" in the academic sense.

So while the Bhagavad-Gita itself is nicely presented here, the book spends a lot of space on philosophy rather than providing good background on the Gita's history and perhaps clarifying some of its more vague spots. This is why I only give the book 4 stars - the translation is topnotch, but the lack of background material can make for some puzzling moments that require the reader to go look something up online or in an encyclopedia. Other than that, I found this to be a handy addition to my library and a useful tool for exploring this amazing Eastern text.

I am the author/transaltor of this book. Thomas (my middle initial too) is right. This translation takes for granted that everyone has read my other book Avatara where all the background information required to understand the Gita is present and has been in print for over thirty years. In fact, it was the first philosophical text to appear in a Philosophy Department in America,at a time when the Classics of India were almost unknown in this Country or taught in Religion Departments. The Gita, in this present form or in the original Sanskrit one, has nothing to do with Religion the way we understand Religion in the West. It is a text about decision-making and philosophy.
Thanks for making it obvious to other readers.

Who decides, is the question.
While our Western Tradition has done everything possible to study nature and thus dominate it, the human individual structures have also been studied in the same manner, as nature or natural, for the same reason. Western, individual man/woman, has no one at the helm to decide.We lack the structures. Other bodies make those decisions using individual untrained wills, from churches to malls, to shools to television. The Bhagavad Gita is the one document where the structures of the deciding self are identified and developed so that one may chose from among the possible facing him/her the best, always, by habit. This was also the aim of Plato in the education of a citizen. No one should miss this study. The translation has the rythm of the original Sanskrit. A classic

Also recommended: Avatara and Moksha Smith by the same author

I am the author/transaltor of this book. Thomas (my middle initial too) is right. This translation takes for granted that everyone has read my other book Avatara where all the background information required to understand the Gita is preset and has been in print for over thirty years. The Gita in this present form or in the original one has nothing to do with Religion the way we understand Religion in the West. It is a text about decision-making and philosophy.
Thanks for making it obvious to other readers.

This book is perhaps the best modern introduction to the Bhagavad Gita. "It is a book to be read again and again, at various stages of life's path, for once you truly comprehend the material presented, you are well on your way to understanding the meaning of life!"