Beginning to study Bhagavad Gita

[wcrow]

Hi,

After a long wait I would like to begin to study the Bhagavad Gita again, as I feel an understanding of it will really settle my mind as to how I understand God.
It is my understanding that there are many interpretations - Advaita, Vaishnava, Gaudiya Vaishnava and so on.
I wonder if those here could point me towards a website, book, or even thier own explanations of those different interpretations so that I can make my mind up as to which I feel helps me understand best.

Wilfred.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namast� wcrow


I am happy you have chosen to being the study of the bhāgavad gītā . IMHO reading multiple views/authors will bring the cream to the top, yet this worked for me and perhaps you will have a different a approach.

I myself have been blessed with a new reading and translation this month. This is my 7th or 8th author on this matter. Why so?

This knowledge is too valuable to leave to just one translation or view. As one reads it again , new knowledge always floats to the top. For this we are blessed on how profound this work is. My teacher has said the bhāgavad gītā addresses each school of thought (ṣaḍ-darśana)�. I can see this and just how profound veda vyāsa-ji's brilliance extends.

If you like I will be happy to list out the books and authors for your consideration. I also recommend a hard copy of the book so you can make notes within it. Yet that said, my most favorite is by
Mahaṛṣi Mahesh Yogī as he reveals an in-depth understanding of the wisdom. He only translated 6 chapters ( this is not uncommon as the gītā is seen as 3 sets of 6 chapters , the knowledge collected together).

praṇām

words

ṣaḍ-darśana one could in general group the 6 into 3 pairs :

• yoga & sāṁkhya - very similar views of creation, one's advancement and the like.
• mimāṁsā & vedānta as vedānta is also known as uttara mimāṁsā a.k.a. the brahma-sūtra-s
  Also some distinguish mimāṁsā as pūrva ( former , prior ) to that of uttara ( later , following , subsequent ) mimāṁsā
  One needs to look at this work of jaimini's pūrva mimāṁsā and see if one can find īśvara. I see īśvara
  very easily in vedānta as this is = to the upaniṣads, as which is the subject at hand in the brahma-sūtra-s.
• nyāya & vaiśeṣika - logic and cosmology - Here we find the 'atom eater' or kaṇāda-muni the author of the vaiśeṣika branch.
  And we have akṣapāda-muni (akṣapāda = having his eyes fixed on his feet ) of the nyāya philosophy.

[Skull]

This site has four traditional commentaries with an emphasis on devotion & dualism. Find a copy of Sri Shankara's non-dualistic commentary and those 5 views should give you plenty to chew on.

http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/index-english.html

This commentary is beautiful, yet long. Sri Jnanadeva gave it - http://www.bvbpune.org/contents1.html

[wcrow]

Yajvan: I would very much like it if you could list books and authors for me, that would be very helpful.

Skull: That is very helpful - I am glad there is somewhere on line where I can read commentry for now.

[kd gupta]

Concept of Hindu[sanatan] dharm is as simple as other dharm�s almighty oneness .
Prayaanakaale manasaachalena
Bhaktyaa yukto yogabalena chaiva;
Bhruvormadhye praanamaaveshya samyak
Sa tam param purusham upaiti divyam.
At the time of death, with unshaken mind, endowed with devotion and by the power of
Yoga, fixing the whole life-breath in the middle of the two eyebrows, he reaches that resplendent
Supreme Person , the one Almighty .

Now , hindu dharm tells to achieve this goal either by leaving no chance or by attaining the human body in second time and this human body can be achieved only when human form of the almighty is in mind at the death time , that is idol worship .
Antakaale cha maameva smaran muktwaa kalevaram;
Yah prayaati sa madbhaavam yaati naastyatra samshayah.
And whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering , the almighty form alone at the time of death,
he attains same being; there is no doubt about this.

This is great BHAGWAT GITA GYAN .

Also as per Vedas human form can be achieved , three times only , 1st for knowledge 2nd for duty and 3rd for bhakti or liberation .

[wcrow]

I currently don't actually have a copy of the Gita myself - I have two that I can readily access, a penguin translation and the Bhagavad Gita "As It Is" by Prabhupada.
I would like to get a copy for myself, do you reckon this one would be good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bhagavad-Git...7077055&sr=1-1

Unfortunatly not hardback, but there isn't a wide variety of hardback copies on Amazon.

Kd Gupta:

"Also as per Vedas human form can be achieved , three times only , 1st for knowledge 2nd for duty and 3rd for bhakti or liberation"

Are you saying that we reincarnate only three times?

[kd gupta]

I currently don't actually have a copy of the Gita myself - I have two that I can readily access, a penguin translation and the Bhagavad Gita "As It Is" by Prabhupada.
I would like to get a copy for myself, do you reckon this one would be good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bhagavad-Git...7077055&sr=1-1

Unfortunatly not hardback, but there isn't a wide variety of hardback copies on Amazon.

Kd Gupta:

"Also as per Vedas human form can be achieved , three times only , 1st for knowledge 2nd for duty and 3rd for bhakti or liberation"

Are you saying that we reincarnate only three times?

Well mr wcrow
As believerji has mentioned in one post for the members not to mention their age , I agree , because it becomes much confusing to engage you students in spirituality .
Any way read ch 6/41,6/42 for three incarnations of bg .
For three births , first gyan comes�
Rasavarjam raso�pyasya param drishtwaa nivartate.
The objects of the senses turn away from the abstinent man, leaving the longing
(behind); but his longing also turns away on seeing the Supreme.

Then comes the duty�..
Jijnaasurapi yogasya shabdabrahmaativartate.
By that very former practice he is borne on in spite of himself. Even he who merely
wishes to know Yoga transcends the Brahmic word.

Then at last liberation is achieved��
Kimaachaarah katham chaitaam streen gunaan ativartate.

What are the marks of him who has crossed over the three qualities, O Lord? What is his
conduct and how does he go beyond these three qualities?

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté wcrow

Yajvan: I would very much like it if you could list books and authors for me, that would be very helpful.

per your request, these are the books I have found to be most useful (to me) regarding the bhāgavad gītā . I use these as my reference.
There are a few on-line references that are also well done that I refer to. I will edit them into this message once I find the proper URL addresses.

• Mahaṛṣi mahesh yogī - Bhāgavad gītā , A New Translation and Commentary - Chapt. 1 to 6
• Śrī Jñānadeva's Bhāvārṭa Dīpikā some call Jñāeśvarī ( his commentary on the Bhāgavad gītā)
• Svāmī paramahaṃsa yogānaṃda - the Bhāgavad gītā , Royal Science of God Realization; God Talks With Arjuna
• Abhinavgupti's Commentary On the Bhāgavad gītā - its called gitārtha saṁgraha .
  • This is the view from kaśmir śaivism . Abhinavagupa's work was translated from saṃskṛt to English by Boris Marjanovic
• Svāmī prabhupāda - Bhāgavad gītā As It Is
• S.Rādhākṛṣṇan - Bhāgavad gītā has a different view on this matter but worth a look
• Mahābhārata - Bhāgavad gītā as the sub chapters of this book - this translation is by kisari mohan ganguli

praṇām

[Sahasranama]

Thanks for posting the list yajvan, I am planning to buy the commentaries of Abhinavagupta and Jnaneshvara sometime in the future, maybe the others also.

There are a few commentaries that can be read online:

Swami Chinmayananda, English commentary:
http://www.chinmayauk.org/Resources/Downloads.htm

Jnaneshvari, translated to English,
http://www.bvbpune.org/contents1.html

Swami Ramsukhdas, Hindi commentary:
http://www.gitapress.org/Download_Hin_pdf.htm

Swami Krishnananda, English commentary:
http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/bgita.html

Collection of various translations and commentaries:
http://www.gitasupersite.iitk.ac.in/

[wcrow]

Yajvan: Thanks a lot!
I wonder, if you wouldn't mind recommending a translation of the Upanishads as well - if that is not too much to ask. Unfortunatly I did not check - but my copy has been abridged so there are parts missing. Obvsiously some bits are not seen to be useful by the translator .