Bhagavad-Gita:: The Song of God (Paperback)

by Swami Prabhavananda (Translator), Christopher Isherwood (Translator) "Tell me, Sanjaya, what my sons and the sons of Pandu did, when they gathered on the sacred field of Kurukshetra eager for battle?..." (more)
Key Phrases: unitive knowledge, relative world, Karma Yoga, The Yoga of Renunciation, Devotion To the Supreme Spirit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Bhagavad-Gita is the Gospel of Hinduism, and one of the great religious classics of the world. Its simple, vivid message is a daily inspiration in the lives of millions throughout the world and has been so for countless generations.

Here is a distinguished translation that can be read by every person, not as an archaic monument to an ancient culture, but as a living contemporary message that touches the most urgent personal and social problems.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (July 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451528441
• ISBN-13: 978-0451528445
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #43,731 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy-to-read and accessible for the typical westerner, September 20, 2004

By	Robert Anderson (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'd always wanted to read the Bhagavad Ghita, but had never got around to it, until I happened across this translation at the library.

In short, the Bhagavad Ghita is a battlefield conversation between Arjuna, a warrier and the Lord Krishna. The scripture is an important part of Hindu religious scriptures and in it Krishna essentially lays out for Arjuna the nature of the soul and the various types of Yoga or paths to God.

The conversation originally comes about because Arjuna is extremely distressed at the prospect of having to kill his own relatives in the battle before him. Krishna explains that souls can never die and that Arjuna must play his assigned role in the great scheme of things. Furthermore, Krishna explains to Arjuna how to balance the spiritual journey with worldly obligations, and how the intentions with which we fulfill our worldly duties differentiate the spiritual man.

This book contains an introduction by Aldous Huxley which discusses the Bhagavad Ghita's relationship to Huxley's concept of the Perennial Philosophy (a common meaning of things that all religious ultimately depict). Included at the end of the text are brief discussions on the "Cosmology of the Ghita" and the "Ghita and War".

If I could change anything about this translation, I would have liked to see more annotations throughout the text but that's a minor gripe becaus overall I found this quick and interesting and accessible for me as a first time reader of the Bhagavad Ghita.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SImple and Beautiful , March 27, 2005

By	Z. Grgic (Europe) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this to be my favorite translation of Bhagavad Gita - I could enjoy reading and reciting this translation together with amazing Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita!

The language is so simple and so beautiful, and in its simplicity it can carry easily the deep and profound Krishna's teaching - that which is of music, that which should be recited and sing - like a song!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro and Appendices; excellent translation, August 6, 2005

By	Monica C. Pilman "middle-aged readaholic" (Acton, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a first-class attempt to bring the Bhagavad-Gita to Western readers. The introduction and the appendices should be read first because they lay the framework for The Song of God, a framework that makes it possible to understand it. The translation is also excellent, avoiding confusing alternate names for major players for the sake of Westerners, and yet retaining much poetic essence.