Customer Reviews

The Bhagavad Gita (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Juan Mascaro's edition of the Gita is undoubtedly one of the more attractive versions for the general reader who is approaching the Gita for the first time. Mascaro, besides being a Sanskrit scholar, is a sensitive translator who clearly resonates to the Gita. He tells us that the aim of his translation is "to give, without notes or commentary, the spiritual message of the Bhagavad Gita in pure English." To suggest just how well he has succeeded, here is his rendering of Verse II.66:

"There is no wisdom for a man without harmony, and without harmony there is no contemplation. Without contemplation there cannot be peace, and without peace can there be joy?"

Many readers will probably be content to remain with Mascaro, and it certainly seems to me that his translation reads beautifully and that a fair number of his verses have never been bettered by others. But the Gita is not quite so simple as it may sometimes appear. If we want to arrive at a fuller idea of just what the Gita means by "wisdom," "harmony," "contemplation," "peace," and so on, we will need to consult other and fuller editions.

There are many editions which, besides giving a translation of the Gita, also give a full commentary such as the excellent one by Sri Aurobindo in his 'Bhagavad Gita and Its Message' (1995). Others, besides giving a commentary and notes, also give the Sanskrit text along with a word-by-word translation. Some of these even include the commentary of the great Indian philosopher, Shankara (c. + 788 to 820), such as the very fine edition by Swami Gambhirananda (Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama, 1995, which may be available through the Vedanta Press, CA). Here is the latter's English rendering of Verse II.66:

"For the unsteady there is no wisdom, and there is no meditation for the unsteady man. And for an unmeditative man there is no peace. How can there be happiness for one without peace?"

This may not seem to have carried us much beyond Mascaro until we start looking at Shankara's commentary, of which the following provides a taste:

"Ayuktasya, for the unsteady, for one who does not have a concentrated mind; na asti, there is no, i.e. there does not arise; buddhih, wisdom, with regard to the nature of the Self; ca, and; there is no bhavana, meditation, earnest longing for the knowledge of the Self; ayuktasya, for an unsteady man. And similarly, abhavayatah, for an unmeditative man, who does not ardently desire the knowledge of the Self; there is no shantih, peace, restraint of the senses. Kutah, how can there be; sukham, happiness; ashantasya, for one without peace? That indeed is happiness which consists in the freedom of the senses from the thirst for enjoyment of objects; not the thirst for objects - that is misery to be sure. The implication is that, so long as thirst persists, there is no possibility of even an iota of happiness!" (page 112-3).

For anyone who would like to see a full treatment of the language of the Sanskrit text, there is Winthrop Sargeant's stupendous labor of love, 'The Bhagavad Gita' (SUNY, 1984) which offers a complete grammatical description of every single Sanskrit word in the text, along with much else.

Finally, for anyone who would like to look at a first-rate study of the Gita, there is Trevor Leggett's 'Realization of the Supreme Self - The Yoga-s of the Bhagavad Gita' (Kegan Paul International, 1995). This is a superb work with an intensely practical bent which sees the Gita, not so much as a metaphysical treatise but as a book of practical instruction. I used to think I knew the Gita before I discovered Leggett!

But despite the great wealth of available editions, of which I've mentioned only a few here, I still find myself returning to Mascaro from time to time. A perfect translation of the Gita into English is probably unattainable, but Mascaro seems to have come as close as anyone is ever likely to do. His version has a tendency to send down roots and grow in the mind.

Juan Mascaro's translation of the famous Bhagavid Gita, the song of our Lord, is truly beautiful, and breathes purity, simplicity, spirituality, and insight throughout. This is one of the classic scriptures of Hinduism, along with the Upanishads and the Ramayana....and tells the tale - against a backdrop of "earthly battle" - of the soul's battle to find God, and to manifest His will on this earth. It is exceptionally clear, and explains the nature of the human being, HOW one should live one's life (work, food, thoughts, associations, etc.), the nature of meditation, how to become enlightened, the nature of God, and what constitutes a holy man. I want to quote some of the beauty of the phrases, but without the book immediately in front of me, fear I will misquote. But it is a book of poetry, an explanation of the right attitude to work, action, thoughts, enlightened men, God, oneself, where the vehicle of the battle is just that - a vehicle used to convey these ancient, and in the East very well understood, and timeless truths.

Mascaro's translation, while widely acknowledged as not the most accurate, is a very good introduction to the Gita. The style is prose throughout, which brings out none of the Gita's beauty, but as for as understanding goes, there few deficiencies here. This should probably not be one's sole resource in studying the book, but fortunately, ther is no commentary so that the reader is left to make up his or her own mind about the value of the book. Nearly all the Sanskrit words have been translated, so that the feeling or reading something "foreign", common to students of the Gita, is noticeably absent. The introductory essay is helpful, but not essential to the understanding of the Song. All in all, a good attempt, but for a better rendering, try Ramanand Prasad's translation, as it is a bit more modern and moves easier than this one.

The Bhagavad Gita is the world's most translated scripture. The task for a Gita translator is to effectively take the poetic multilayer Sanskrit original and translate it into English preserving it's flavor allowing it to stand alone without commentary. Few have succeeded. I have read multiple editions of the Gita and,in my Sanskrit studies, read the original in Sanskrit.

While I haven't read all the English translations, Mascaro's translation is the best I have read. It takes the reader to the heart of the Gita, to their own heart and to that of Lord Krishna with practical real instructions on how we should live to be aligned with God. It is a practical nitty gritty instruction manual on how we are to construct and conduct ourselves in our own "life battle".

Gandhi read the Gita as his daily practice; it sustained him. I have found the same experience when I have picked up this volume during my own times of crisis.

If one wants to plumb the depths of the Gita, then I would suggest getting Winthrop Sargent's Bhagavad Gita with the Sanskrit and Sanskrit translation. It is excellent, but a few of the translations are off, and it is dry compared to Mascaro.

There are many commentaries and at present I don't have a favorite one to recommend.

If one wants to explore both the flavor and the depth of the Gita, I would recommend undertaking Sanskrit studies with Vyaas Houston www.americansanskrit.com . He gives weekend trainings to begin to learn Sanskrit as well as immersions into the Gita.
I can assure you, you won't be disappointed.

If you don't have the time or money, Mascaro's translation is a gold mine.

This is the first of all "hindu classics" I've read but I think it already gave me a good vision about this "way-of-life-religion". Trought the Bhagavad Gita you'll learn how you could find your way [to the heavenly happy] and that this way will appear for you in the moment you find yourself. It shows you the importance of a good will instead of a sellfish being in which you just think about your fellings, forgeting all the holliness of the world around you. Make your best, but for the life in general, for God, not for you and your sellfish desires and you'll reach the path of heaven, the world of infinit. And if you read it with attention, you'll see how similar it is with other religions, among them, cristianity. Besides all that, a very careful tranlation makes this book a truly recommended one. Buy this book, fight against your evils and start your walking to heaven!

Without a doubt, this book has to be one of my all-time favorites. I am a Christian, but I will be honest in claiming that the Gita has had a profound influence on me. Mascaro's translation is concise and uncluttered, and this poem can be read and appreciated by all, irrelevant of one's own religious beliefs.

This is one of the more lucid translations of the Gits, although it has not been rendered very poetically. However, Mascaro has a real feel for the Hindu theology which makes the boos unusaully rewarding to read. This was my introduction to the Gita and I am grateful to JM for this little book.

full of mistranslations of key concepts..

there is just so much of this that it forms an underlying structural
orientation of the translation, starting with the [long] introduction
with bible quotes to justify translation choices..

the last words of krishna are changed to "thy will be done"
lifted straight from mathew, luke and the lords prayer..

a translation by an academic bible scholar, shows its origins..
and ruins the subtleties of this timeless discourse..

carl
namaste

When reading this translation, I had a vision in my mind of works by El Greco, the painter who (from a Christian tradition) joined the author or authors of this poem in seeing through the surfaces of things to the reality within. The reader will find this to be an accessible translation of the Bhagavad Gita to readers who, like myself, grew up inside American culture. People who feel that they have reached a new stage of acceptance of what is happening to them as they move thorugh life's journey will find this book, or any other reasonably accurate translation of the underlying poem, to be a tremendous resource.

After much concern as a Christian, over whether or not Hindus believe in one Supreme Being or not, this book put my concerns to rest. It explains, as a 500 BC document, their view of God and His avatars on earth, the Trinity as they know it, and who their God is by name. I was completely intrigued by phrases in this "prayer" or poem, that echo the Nicene Creed: God of Gods, Light of light, Very God of Very God, Begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by Whom all things were made. This book should be required reading for all seminary students. Now we know things in Hinduism got fairly convoluted with over 200 demi-gods after this book was written, but it tells it like it was when it started. The Trimurti is still a mystery as is the Trinity, but over all, Brahman is God. A masterful work.