The Bhagavadgita is one phase of the Tripod of Indian philosophy and culture, the other two phases being the Upanishads and the Brahmasutras. While the Upanishads lay the foundation of the loftiest reach possible for humanity and the Brahmasutras logically elucidate the intricate issues involved in the Upanishads, the Bhagavadgita blends together the Transcendent and the Immanent features of the Ultimate Reality, bringing together into an integrated whole knowledge and action, the inner and the outer, the individual and the society, man and God, all which are portrayed as facets of a Universal Operation, presenting entire life and all life as a perfectly complete organic wholeness, leaving nothing unsaid and attempting to solve every problem in life.
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Born on the 8th September, 1887, in the noble family of Sage Appayya Dikshitar and several other renowned saints and savants, Sri Swami Sivananda had a natural flair for a life devoted to the study and practice of Vedanta. Added to this was an inborn eagerness to serve all and an innate feeling of unity with all mankind. Though born in an orthodox family, Swamiji was broad-minded and catholic, pious and devout.Born on the 8th September, 1887, in the noble family of Sage Appayya Dikshitar and several other renowned saints and savants, Sri Swami Sivananda had a natural flair for a life devoted to the study and practice of Vedanta. Added to this was an inborn eagerness to serve all and an innate feeling of unity with all mankind. Though born in an orthodox family, Swamiji was broad-minded and catholic, pious and devout. His passion for service drew him to the medical career; and soon he gravitated to those parts of the world which most needed his service. Malaya claimed him. He had also commenced editing a Health Journal and wrote extensively on health problems. He discovered he espoused it as his own mission. It was divine dispensation and the blessing of God upon mankind that the doctor of body an mind renounced his career and took to a life of renunciation to qualify himself for ministering to the soul of man. He settled down at Rishikesh in 1924, practised intense austerities and shone as a great Yogi, Saint, Sage and Jivanmukta. Swami Sivananda dressed to cloth himself, ate to live, and to serve humanity. A small dilapidated Kutir, not resorted to by others, and infested with scorpions protected him from rain and sun. With all his intense Tapas, Swamiji, did not neglect service of the sick. He visited the huts of the Sadhus with medicines, served them and shampooed their legs. He begged food on their behalf and fed them with his own hands when they fell sick. When necessary, he kept vigil throughout the night by the side of the bed of the ailing Sadhus. He served the pilgrims and saw Lord Narayana in them. Swamiji traveled the whole length and breadth of India during his Parivrajaka life. He conducted Sankirtan and delivered lectures. Swamiji, then, went on a trip to Kailas and Badri. He returned after the pilgrimage and started the Sivanand Ashram in the year 1932 on the right bank of the holy Ganga. In 1936 was born The Divine Life Society. He found and old Kutir, dilapidated and disused, which looked like an abandoned cowshed. To him it was more than a palace. He cleaned the Kutir and occupied it. Then, the increasing number of disciples who sought his lotus feet, undaunted by forbidding conditions of living, necessitated expansion. They found more sheds vacant, but uninhabitable filthy. Thus began the early life of The Divine Life Society. Sri Swami Sivananda believed in synthesis in everything, in Yoga as well as in the alleviation of human suffering. Swamiji radiated his divine and lofty message of service. Meditation and God-realisation to all parts of the world through periodicals and letters, through his books, running to more than three hundred. His devoted disciples were drawn from all religions, cults and creeds. Swami Sivananda’s Yoga which he has significantly called the ‘Yoga of Synthesis’, effects a harmonious development of the ‘hand’, ‘head’, and ‘heart’, through the practice of Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Widest possible dissemination of spiritual knowledge is the primary object of the Divine Life Society. Its illustrious founder Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj tirelessly worked for three decades from his small hermitage on the bank of the Ganga in pursuance of this worthy goal. On the 14th July 1963, the Great Soul, Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, entered Mahasamadhi in his Kutir on the bank of the Ganga, in Shivanandanagar. Though Swami Sivananda attained Mahasamadhi, his spirit
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best Gita I've encountered,
By Nigel "Nigel" (Austin) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bhagavad Gita (Hardcover)
I found this originally in a used bookstore in 1970. It has been my constant companion ever since. Written in the 50's prior to the commercialization of Indian Gurus by the West, Sivananda's commentary and translation of the Gita is very pure and traditional. His is not catering to the west but writing the commentary for serious seekers who are Indians. So many modern Gita commentaries are watered down for Americans and sort of new-ageish or they push a very narrow sectarian agenda ("Bhagavad Gita As It IS" ie.,the Hare Krishna movement's version -- or Paramahansananda Yogananda's three volume version in particular apply here)
Sivanana's commentary is filled with deep insights into the various spiuritual paths delivered by a man who was widely acknowledged as being one of India's great spiritual teachers of the early to mid 20th century. (He died in 1963). He understands that the Gita teaches a variety of spititual paths and each is equally valid if followed with commitment. He delivers deep insights without watering the Gita down for the "masses." This particular version is all one needs. The single desert island book.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An exceptional edition for exceptional readers,
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This review is from: The Bhagavad Gita (Hardcover)
The Bhagavad Gita - Text, Word-to word meaning, Translation and Commentary by Sr Swami Sivananda. Shivanandanagar, Himalayas: Twelfth Edition, 2008. Hardback, xl + 576 Pages. ISBN 8170520002.
There was something very special about Swami Sivananda. You don't have to read much of him before realizing this and developing a powerful liking for him. His earlier edition of the Bhagavad Gita has been a constant companion of mine for many years. Since it is a pocket edition, however, it is only lightly annotated and without the very full and excellent commentary that we find in the present edition. An earlier reviewer pointed out that "Sivananda's commentary and translation of the Gita is very pure and traditional. His is not catering to the west but writing the commentary for serious seekers who are Indians." I would agree with this. The commentary does have more of a 'devotional' flavor than the 'philosophic' flavor we find in other editions of the Gita such as that of Swami Gambhirananda's Bhagavad-Gita or, and especially, that of Dr. A.G. Krishna Warrier's Srimad Bhagavad Gita Bhasya of Sri Samkaracarya. Readers should also note that the present edition gives the text of the Gita ONLY in Devanagari script and lacks (with the exception of a few words) the transliteration that we find, for example, in Swami Sivananda's pocket edition and in many other current editions of the Gita. What this means is that, although you can still enjoy the translation and most of the commentary, in order to make full use of this book you will need to be able to read Devanagari. This is made less problematic since the book is well-printed on quality paper with the Sanskrit in large clear easy-to-read fonts. All in all then, I would pronounce the book an exceptional edition for exceptional readers. For descriptions of other editions of The Bhagavad Gita see my Listmania list. Anyone wishing to learn Devanagari should download Charles Wikner's 'A Practical Sanskrit Introductory' (1996). This is an extremely useful 146-page Sanskrit tutorial in 15 lessons which the author has generously made freely available. It can be downloaded from: http://sanskritdocuments.org/learning_tutorial_wikner/index.html
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, all around!,
By
This review is from: The Bhagavad Gita (Hardcover)
I wholeheartedly agree with previous reviews and, if I had anything in particular to add, it would be this: this book doubles as a fantastic Sanskrit reader! As noted, the print is incredibly clear (and in devanagari much more legible than that in Lanman's venerable reader), and Sivananda offers fine word-by-word glosses of the Sanskrit text. Additionally, the language of the Gita is so elegant and simple that it serves as a fine first text for those wishing to apply their Sanskrit and learn a great deal more along the way. Sivananda's commentary itself is clear but lyrical, and, though it elucidates the text tremendously, it often offers analogies and aphorisms as insightful as those of the Gita proper. Truly, this edition is the work of a great thinker and spiritual leader in his own right, as Sivananda's biography would attest. Additionally, he offers great commentary on the meaning of particular terms of importance, pausing to reflect on them in a way that allows even non-initiates in Indian thought to grasp the meaning of concepts central to its history. The Gita itself is a work born out of a profound understanding of the human condition, and Sivananda's edition proves a worthy vessel for transmitting it to those not steeped in its traditions. Through the course of reading it, I found myself appreciating the work on literary, linguistic, and philosophical levels all at the same time. Really, I can't praise this work enough! Buy it now!
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