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Bhavad Gita
Comments on the Holy Gita
(collated by M.P.Bhattathri)
"No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none
is better loved, in the West, than the Bhagavad Gita. Translation of such a work
demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy with the theme
and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a symphony in which God is seen in all
things. . . . The
Swami does a real service for students by investing the beloved Indian epic
with fresh meaning. Whatever our outlook may be, we should all be grateful for
the labor that has lead to this illuminating work." - Dr. Geddes MacGregor,
Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy University of Southern California
"The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great religious
civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the world. The present
translation and commentary is another manifestation of the permanent living
importance of the Gita."
Thomas Merton, Theologian
"I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's scholarly
and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for the
scholar as well as the layman and is of great utility as a reference book as
well as a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my students. It is a
beautifully done book."
Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton University
"As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of Bhagavad-gita As
It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to the majestic title of His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The great interest that his
reading of the Bhagavad-gita holds for us is that it offers us an authorized
interpretation according to the principles of the Caitanya tradition."
Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne University,
Paris
"I have had the opportunity of examining several volumes published by the
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them to be of excellent quality and of
great value for use in college classes on Indian religions. This is particularly
true of the BBT edition and translation of the Bhagavad-gita."
Dr. Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia University
"If truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there must be
a kind of truth in the
Bhagavad-Gita As It Is, since those who follow its teachings display
a joyous serenity usually missing in the bleak and strident lives of
contemporary people." Dr. Elwin H. Powell Professor of Sociology State
University of New York, Buffalo
"There is little question that this edition is one of the best books
available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada's translation is an ideal blend
of literal accuracy and religious insight."
Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall
College
"The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a common
part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less because it is alien per se
than because we have lacked just the kind of close interpretative commentary
upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta has here provided, a commentary written from
not only a scholar's but a practitioner's, a dedicated lifelong devotee's point
of view."
Denise Levertov, Poet
"The increasing numbers of Western readers interested in classical Vedic
thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new
and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has increased our
understanding manyfold."
Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian Languages and
Civilization University of Chicago
"The scholarly world is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita has been translated many times, Prabhupada
adds a translation of singular importance with his commentary."
Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of Religions and Director
of Libraries Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
"Srila Prabhupada's edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France, where many
hope to become familiar with traditional Indian thought, beyond the commercial
East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since the time Europeans first penetrated
India."Whether the reader be an adept of Indian spiritualism or not, a reading
of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is will be extremely profitable. For many this will
be the first contact with the true India, the ancient India, the eternal India."
Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences Institute of Political
Studies, Paris, France
"As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much grief to
see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and
spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very excited to see the publication of
Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It will help
to stop the terrible cheating of false and unauthorized 'gurus' and 'yogis' and
will give an opportunity to all people to understand the actual meaning of
Oriental culture."
Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center for Oriental
Studies, The University of Mexico
"It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and beautifully explained work. I
don't know whether to praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gita, its
daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility of its ideas. I have
never seen any other work on the Gita with such an important voice and style. .
. . It will occupy a significant place in the intellectual and ethical life of
modern man for a long time to come."
Dr. Shaligram Shukla Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University
"I can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found explanations and
answers to questions I had always posed regarding the interpretations of this
sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly admire. If the aesceticism and
ideal of the apostles which form the message of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is were
more widespread and more respected, the world in which we live would be
transformed into a better, more fraternal place."
Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire, Catholic University of
Paris
"When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this
universe everything else seems so superfluous."
Albert Einstein
"When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see
not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to
comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming
sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings
from it every day."
Mahatma Gandhi
"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal
philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world and
its literature seem puny and trivial."
Henry David Thoreau
"The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its
devotion to God which is manifested by actions."
Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation
rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for every
civilization."
Sri Aurobindo
"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current
in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his
Timaeus in which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.'
This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of
Bhagavad-Gita."
Carl Jung
"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of human
existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life;
yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe."
Prime Minister Nehru
"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life's
wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion."
Herman Hesse
"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books;
it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large,
serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and
climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full
understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it."
Rudolph Steiner
"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human
existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all
the teachings of the Vedic scriptures."
Adi Shankara
"The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution
of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive
summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is
subject not only to India but to all of humanity."
Aldous Huxley
"The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of
devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme
Lord Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is relieve the
world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to
spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His incomparable intention to be
perpetually within reach of all humanity."
Ramanuja
The Bhagavad-Gita is not seperate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the
Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is
transmigation of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of Bhagavad-Gita one
may think that they are advised to engage in warfare. When the second chapter
has been read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and the soul is the
ultimate goal to be attained. On studying the third chapter it is apparent that
acts of righteousness are also of high priority. If we continue and patiently
take the time to complete the Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of
its closing chapter we can see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all
the conceptualized ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender
directly unto the Supreme Lord.
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
"The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and
protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the
Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of
flowers."
Madhvacarya
"Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a
technical meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of
any two or more things. The technical meaning is “a state of stability and
peace and the means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad
Gita uses the word with both meanings. Lord Krishna is a real Yogi
who can maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis."
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi |
