Customer Reviews

Bhagavad-Gita

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2 star:		(1)
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BHAGAVADGITA - With the Commentary of SANKARACARYA. Translated by Swami Gambhirananda. Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, Seventh Impression 2006. Hardback, xxi + 826 pages. ISBN 8175050411.

An earlier reviewer, who apparently loathes Sankara, complained that the present edition isn't 'devotional' enough for his taste. Personally I find Swami Gambhirananda's to be a superb edition and it has long been one of my favorites. Of course, I didn't go to it expecting it to be something it isn't supposed to be.

Sankara has been described as being "without doubt, one of the greatest minds India has ever produced." I think that, in setting out to give us a clear and readable translation of Sankara's important commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Swami Gambhirananda has succeeded admirably.

Those who would prefer a commentary with a more devotional flavor should perhaps be reading the Ramanuja Gita Bhasya or, as recommended by the aforementioned reviewer, the Srimad Bhagavadgita Sadhaka-Sanjivani. They might also find Swami Sivananda's excellent commentary in his edition of the Bhagavad Gita more suited to their taste.

As for the physical makeup of the present edition (published in 2006), my own copy is well-printed on good paper, stitched in the traditional manner so that it opens flat for reading without any danger of pages coming loose and falling out, and bound in cloth with paper-covered boards. A plastic wrapper has even been placed over the dust-wrapper to prevent it from being worn or torn. How nice it would be if all books were as well-produced as this.

Contains Shankara's commentary, with the translation by Swami Gambhirananda. I'm bound to say that I prefer this version to the Sastry one because each verse is translated phrase by phrase and I find that particularly useful. The paper and printing quality is also better. For the serious student, this is probably the one I would most recommend.

Dennis Waite, author of Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita

Brilliant, a clear and beautiful exposition on the Geeta. For those who are truly interested on penetrating the deeper meaning contained in the story. It is most useful to dedicate time everyday to study the commentary. I fully recommend this copy for your study.

The first thing that struck me about this book is its cheap and flimsy binding. It feels like it is going to fall apart every time you open it.

I tried hard to enjoy reading this version of the BG, but found the translation to be off the mark and the commentary ponderous and not very helpful.

Devotion to Krishna - the whole point of the BG, is not the same as worship of "The Great Void" as taught by Sankaracharya. So to begin with, the entire premise of attempting to transform a devotional text into a non-devotional one is quite flawed.

The BG states explicitly that each human has a soul and describes its physical properties. That soul is eternal and individualistic. Krishna says, (paraphrasing) - "...worship Me, be devoted to Me, work for Me and keep Me constantly in your toughts, and when you die you will come to Me." A reader will find no mention of "The Great Void" where ostensibly the soul loses its individual identity and merges into "nothingness" as espoused by the Sankaracharya school of thought.

Truly there is no need to read the gloss of any guru or expert or latest "exercise in translation" when it comes to the BG. The majority of these commentators have a specific agenda and will seek to distort the plain truth so simply stated in the original text of the BG. Worse yet is the continual onslaught of new "western" translators attempting to make a buck after studying Sanskrit for a year or two. Beware of the "westernized" translations that attempt to dumb down the text for "easy understanding".

In my experience I have found reading the Gita to be much like the Bible. The more you read and meditate upon the verses the more is revealed to you. You get out of it what you put in.

To summarize: cheap binding along with agenda-driven translation not in keeping with the original intent makes this book all of 2 stars.

If one must read a version of the BG with commentary, I highly recommend Srimad Bhagavadgita by Swami Ramsukhdas which contains gloss that is true to the devotional intent.