The life and times of India's most famous spiritual and literary masterpiece The Bhagavad Gita, perhaps the most famous of all Indian scriptures, is universally regarded as one of the world's spiritual and literary masterpieces. Richard Davis tells the story of this venerable and enduring book, from its origins in ancient India to its reception today as a spiritual classic that has been translated into more than seventy-five languages. The Gita opens on the eve of a mighty battle, when the warrior Arjuna is overwhelmed by despair and refuses to fight. He turns to his charioteer, Krishna, who counsels him on why he must. In the dialogue that follows, Arjuna comes to realize that the true battle is for his own soul. Davis highlights the place of this legendary dialogue in classical Indian culture, and then examines how it has lived on in diverse settings and contexts. He looks at the medieval devotional traditions surrounding the divine character of Krishna and traces how the Gita traveled from India to the West, where it found admirers in such figures as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Aldous Huxley. Davis explores how Indian nationalists like Mahatma Gandhi and Swami Vivekananda used the Gita in their fight against colonial rule, and how contemporary interpreters reanimate and perform this classical work for audiences today. An essential biography of a timeless masterpiece, this book is an ideal introduction to the Gita and its insights into the struggle for self-mastery that we all must wage.

The Bhagavad-Gita, the "Song of God," is not only one of the most revered texts of Hinduism, but of world literature and spirituality in general. Its 700 verses make up a small part of the great Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, of which it can be said to be the heart. It consists of a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and Krishna, avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu, about action and nonaction, knowledge and love. The Gita is revered as a concise expression of Hindu philosophy, as a work of profound poetry, and as a guide to enlightened living. It is one of the most often translated of spiritual texts, and, as is the case with other texts of its stature, new translations tend to enhance rather than exhaust our understanding of it, revealing new facets of its wisdom with each iteration. This fresh translation stands out from the many others first of all in its careful faithfulness to the original language, but also for the extensive tools for understanding it provides. It is accompanied by detailed explanatory notes, as well as by the entire Sanskrit text on facing pages--both in the original Devanagri alphabet and in a romanized version that allows the reader to approximate the sounds of this work that began with oral recitation (a pronunciation guide is also provided). Also included is a literal, word-for-word translation for comparison; extensive material on the background, symbolism, and influence of the Gita; and an exhaustive glossary of terms. It's like a course on the Bhagavad-Gita in a book.

The Bhagavad Gita, the Song of the Lord, is an ancient Hindu scripture about virtue presented as a dialogue between Krishna, an incarnation of God, and the warrior Arjuna on the eve of a great battle over succession to the throne. Their discourse takes place on a field between two armies of warring cousins. Arjuna, realizing that if he fights, he will be forced to kill his friends, relatives, and teachers, casts down his bow and arrow and refuses to engage in combat. The Gita unfolds as a discussion of Arjuna's moral dilemma, with Krishna as the wise interlocutor explaining to Arjuna that he must overcome his instinctual revulsion and convincing him that he must attend to his duties as a warrior, while Krishna reveals himself as an incarnation of God in human form. This poem, written in Sanskrit is composed of 700 numbered stanzas, divided into 18 chapters. It deals with common human issues such as how we should act, how we should perform virtue, and it's universal themes of life and death, war and peace and sacrifice resonate in a West increasingly interested in Eastern religious experience and the Hindu dispora.

Yoga means Union. And what is Union? Uniting with the Moment. Uniting with the Event at Hand. Being at Ease with a person or a situation. Being at ease with your own Self. Do we have to be friendly to someone who is bothersome? We can certainly maintain our cool by changing the conversation, expressing our displeasure or even moving away from the space. However how to do this regularly so that our own creativity and expression and happiness are maintained? This is the subject of the Bhagavad Gita. Especially of its 6th Chapter that gives succinct keys for living well physically, at home and at the workplace. This edition gives the original verses in Sanskrit along with a Latin Transliteration and a commentary in English. An Anvaya and essence in Hindi and English make it eminently readable.

At last, an edition of the Bhagavad Gita that speaks with unprecedented fidelity and clarity, letting the profound beauty and depth of this classic shine through. It contains an unusually informative introduction, the Sanskrit text of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute’s critical edition, an accurate and accessible English translation, a comprehensive glossary of names and epithets and a thorough index.

The world classic of spirituality is now available in a powerful and accessible new prose translation--a "universal love song" that covers a wide range of topics, from healing inner pain to celebrating life.

Part of the ancient Hindu epic The Mahabharata, The Bhagavad Gita is one of the enduring religious texts of the world The Bhagavad Gita is an early poem that recounts the conversation between Arjuna the warrior and his charioteer Krishna, a manifestation of God. In the moments before a great battle, Krishna sets out the important lessons Arjuna must learn to understand his own role in the war he is about to fight. Krishna reveals to Arjuna his true cosmic form and counsels the warrior to act according to his sacred obligations. Ranging from instructions on yoga to moral discussion, the Gita has served for centuries as an everyday, practical guide to living well. Translated with an introduction by Laurie L. Patton

This is a collection of careful, objective, historically sensitive studies of modern commentators on the Bhagavadgita, one of the basic scriptures of Hinduism, and one which has been widely read in the modern West. Experts on modern Indian religious thought show how Ghandi, Vivekananda, Radhakrishnan, Bhaktivedanta, Aurobindo, Tilak, Bhave, Sivananda, the Theosophists, and Bhankim read, used and interpreted the Gita. Collectively, the essays display the different backgrounds and orientations of the major Indian thinkers of our time. An Introduction and a Conclusion provide a perspective on the thinkers and identify common themes which are part of modern emphases.

5 lectures, Cologne, Dec. 28, 1912 - Jan. 1, 1913 (CW 142) 9 lectures, Helsinki, May 28 - June 5, 1913 (CW 146) 1 lecture, Basel, Sept. 19, 1912 (CW 139) This combination of two volumes in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works presents Steiner's profound engagement with Hindu thought and, above all, the Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita as they illuminate Western Christian esotericism. In his masterly introduction, Robert McDermott, a longtime student of Rudolf Steiner, as well as Hindu spirituality, explores the complex ways in which the "Song of the Lord," or Bhagavad Gita, has been understood in East and West. He shows how Krishna's revelation to Arjuna --a foundation of spirituality in India for more than two and a half millennia --assumed a similarly critical role in the Western spiritual revival of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the West, for instance, leading up to Steiner's engagement, McDermott describes the various approaches manifested by Emerson, Thoreau, H.P. Blavatsky, and William James. In the East, he engages with interpretations of historical figures such as Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo, relating them to Steiner's unique perspective. In addition, and most important, he illumines the various technical terms and assumptions implicit in the worldview expressed in the Bhagavad Gita. The main body of The Bhagavad Gita and the West consists of two lecture courses by Rudolf Steiner: "The Bhagavad Gita and the Epistles of Paul" and "The Esoteric Significance of the Bhagavad Gita." In the first course, his main purpose is to integrate the flower of Hindu spirituality into his view of the evolution of consciousness and the pivotal role played in it by the Mystery of Golgotha --the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Steiner views Krishna as a great spiritual teacher and the Bhagavad Gita as a preparation, though still abstract, for the coming of Christ and the Christ impulse as the living embodiment of the World, Law, and Devotion, represented by the three Hindu streams of Veda, Sankhya, and Yoga. For Steiner, the epic poem of the Bhagavad Gita represents the "fully ripened fruit" of Hinduism, whereas Paul is related but represents "the seed of something entirely new." In the last lecture of part one, Steiner reveals Krishna as the sister soul of Adam, incarnated as Jesus, and claims Krisha's Yoga teachings streamed from Christ into Paul. In the second lecture course, five months later, Steiner engages the text of the Bhagavad Gita --on its own terms --as signaling the beginning of a new soul consciousness. To aid in understanding both of these important cycles, this book includes the complete text of the Bhagavad Gita in Eknath Easwaran's luminous translation. In our age, when East and West are growing closer and we live increasingly in a global, intercultural and religiously pluralistic world, this remarkable book is required reading. The Bhagavad Gita and the West is a translation of two volumes in German: Die Bhagavad Gita und die Paulusbriefe (CW 142) and Die okkulten Grundlagen der Bhagavad Gita (CW 146). The lecture in the appendix is translated from Das Markus-Evangelium (CW 139) and was published in The Gospel of St. Mark (Anthroposophic Press, 1986).

The author of this book asserts that an absence of ethical leadership and unethical practices were the reasons for major global business scandals such as Enron, Satyam, Lehman Brothers, and WorldCom. This book analyses the causes for these unethical activities and interprets important verses from The Bhagavad Gita to show business executives and leaders how to lead ethically for the greater good of all stakeholders and society. As a remedy to avoid future scandals, the author points to several ethical directions, and the principle of Dharma, mentioned in The Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna, a major deity in Hinduism, who is considered Dharmātman (one who imbibes the Dharma). Written in conversation style using an executive education scenario, this book examines real world cases in various sectors like education, medical, non-government organizations (NGOs) and retail using the directions of the Dharmātman.