Customer Reviews

Bhagavad-Gita As It Is

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

 

 

After reading an abridged Gita in the 60s, I have since studied Prabhupada's unabridged edition several times. Prabhupada's comments reveal wisdom of the ancients, yet are inspired with modern relevance. I am moved by his focus on the Personality of Krishna. My favorite parts of Krishna's Gita are his discussion of a type of ancient holistic ecology in chapters 4-5; his treatise of work and duty throughout; his summary of Vedanta in chapter 2; and his awesome watermarks of devotion in chapters 10, 12, and 18.

I have had the Bhaktidevanta Book Trust version of the Bhagavad-Gita for some time. Naturally, there are many books you should keep around if you study Ayurveda and this is one of them. I don't own the entire Mahabharata yet but you can be sure I will at some point. The Bhagavad-Gita is the portion where Arjuna is compelled to go to war and is counseled by Krishna in relation so you gain the wisdom of the book as an observer, just for those that don't know that already. It's a great book.

I've read the Bhagavad-gita by other authors, but this edition of the Bhagavad-gita made it so clear and easy to understand. I especially enjoyed it because it is directly translated from the Sanskrit to English. So you know it's accurate. After reading it, I began to feel a joyous serenity. I highly recommend this book.

This commentary on Bhagavad Gita contradicts various upanishads. Aritificial 4 rules are being asked to follow in this edition to make it a cult status. Lord Krishna does not ask to follow any specific regulative principles in the original Bhagavad Gita.

If you are a scholar only interested in academics then this book many be useful to you, but if you are on a spiritual path then this is a horrible translation of the Bhagavad Gita. I understand the meaning of many of the terms used, but I still could not make any sense of this version. If you want to boost your ego by filling it with so much "ancient secret knowledge" that you have to study for years to understand, then this is the book for you. You'll have plenty of difficult concepts and ideas to bounce around your mind. The book is also very rigid, claiming that it is the only translation that is true and worthwhile.

I see no reason why God wouldn't give a version of the Gita to everyday Westerners. Why would he expect someone stuggling with life and looking for help to have to work so hard to pry a bit of peace and understanding from a book like this? He doesn't. I believe that one of God's gifts to us are books like Jack Hawley's Bhagavad Gita translation. It flows so smothly and conveys God's beautful message without filling your head with ideas and concepts that need sorted out.

One more thing. If you're on this path and you haven't read Eckhart Tolle, you might want to. He takes meditation from a seperate practice to a continual way of life and has accellerated my growth considerably.

I have read many editions of Bhagavad-gita before, but in all of them the authors seemed to be eager to veil the direct meaning of the text. This editions were dry, highly speculative, full of logical flaws and actually lifeless. What a pleasant surprise is this edition! It vibrates with life and can easiliy be related to the real desires in every persons heart, which are love and rich and profound relationships. And as this edition plainly and by use of conquering and perfect logic states, this all starts by reestablishing our love and appreciation for the personal center of all that exists, the Supreme Person.
I highly recommend this edition of Bhagavad-gita for everyone, who is searching for juicy and spicy life instead of boring and out-of-touch impersonal speculations of other editions.

Don't be fooled by all the positive reviews (by International Society of Krishna Consciousness devotees), the title "AS IT IS" is added to confuse the fact that this commentary distorts the Gita's meaning out of recognition. Immerse youself in another version that bears the name "The Bhagavad Gita" and you will find most of the key ideas present in this "AS IT IS" version to be quite diffent, focused as it is, on the supreme Godhead as an
actual person rather than a universal presence, focused as this is on a single technique (bhakti/devotion) when the actual Bhagavad Gita teaches many paths. Ridculously, in order to combat the true Gita's words, this commentator resorts to absurdities that only a brain-washed cult member would accept. For example, to disclaim the obvious emphasis the true Gita places on the practice of meditation, Prahupda claims that back then people lived 60,000 years and could sit in meditation for 100's of years at a stretch, but today, since people live such short life spans, the Gita's teaching on meditation is no longer valid. Believe this sort of stuff and he may be able to convince you nirvana lies in a spaceship hiding behind a comet and all you have to do is drink some special Kool-Aid to make it there.

The Hare Krishna's did most of the five star reviews. If you read the few reviews that are not posted by Hare Krishna's (most give it one star) you will find that other people who are familiar with the actual Bhagavad Gita hate this version. The commentary is by the spiritual leader of the Hare Krishna movement and as such it is so different from mainstream readings that it is kooky. I can't say enough about what a great spiritual book the Gita is, but not this version. Check out the Bhagavad Gita translated by either Stephen Mitchell or Eknath Easwaran for a more accurate presentation.

I am NOT satisfied with the order. In the photo, it shows the "delux" version which is the better version (book with maroon border, 1047 pages), has better quality pages, and better presentation. Even the ISBN number is NOT matching.

The seller has shipped me older version version (with 950 pges, older cover).

I am NOT satistied.