Description

For some, the elegant, highly readable Gita translation contained herein will be their first encounter with the text, while others may already have a frequently read version waiting at home. In either case, this comprehensive guide, with its systematic analysis of major themes and its hundreds of Gita references, represents a one-of-a-kind companion for beginners, advanced students and experienced scholars alike. With encyclopedic knowledge and an insider’s understanding of the text, the author guides us in simple accessible prose to the very heart of the Gita’s sublime conclusions. Thus, this comprehensive guide not only constitutes a first-rate book of reference, but also proves a thoroughly engaging and illuminating read.

A Comprehensive Guide to Bhagavad-gita is unique in that it brings clarity to the wisdom of India s most popular but many times misunderstood spiritual classic. The author, H.D. Goswami, as a trained Harvard scholar and lifetime student of the Bhagavad-gita, combines rigorous study with simple language to give both scholars and first-time readers easy access to the sacred literature s complex and sophisticated treatise. This guide elucidates key Sanskrit terms in the original text, using the literal meaning of the Sanskrit words, thus allowing the text to define its own terms and make its own arguments. Along with hundreds of references, a systematic analysis is given of the Gita s major themes such as knowledge, reincarnation, meditation, karma, yoga, devotion, sacrifice, renunciation, liberation, and the divinity of Krishna. The book also includes a precise, literal translation of the ancient text. For over 45 years H.D. Goswami has shared the wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita at prestigious universities and with spiritual communities around the world. Thus, this publication is the fruit and culmination of a long, distinguished career of studying, teaching, and living the text. A Comprehensive Guide to Bhagavad-gita is a companion and study guide to Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada s ground-breaking Bhagavad Gita As It Is, the largest-selling edition of the Bhagavad-gita in the Western world. Prabhupada personally instructed H.D. Goswami, his disciple, to present these teachings “in your own words” to learned Western audiences. Anyone that has read one of the several English translations of the famed Bhagavad-gita, with its richness of life-affirming truth, may have come away feeling spiritually refreshed yet vaguely uncertain as to whether or not the Gita upholds a clearly developed system of thought. With its sophisticated thematic approach, this Comprehensive Guide brings clarity to the Gita s content in a most thorough and systematic way, inviting both first-time and seasoned readers to vigorously engage with the text while enjoying the rewards of deep understanding. Kenneth Valpey Ph.D., Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies

Words from the author himself: “Originally, this comprehensive guide to the Gita’s content was intended to be only a short introduction to my literal Gita translation. But like Krishna’s fabled fish incarnation, which appeared in tiny form and then grew to vast proportions, what began as a mere introduction, grew by necessity to become a book in itself. Having read, studied and cherished the Gita for decades at the feet of my teacher Srila Prabhupada, I could not help but share the profound conceptual connections that make this Sanskrit text so magical. The Gita is widely recognized as a work of spiritual and philosophical genius, and early on I fell in love with its Sanskrit text. My sincere wish here, through explication and translation, is to bring the general reader deep within that original Sanskrit. I hope you enjoy the journey.”

About the author: A renowned teacher of Bhagavad Gita, H.D.Goswami (Howard Resnick) received his Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University, has published articles with Harvard, Columbia and the University of California, and has lectured at universities around the world. A lifelong practitioner of bhakti-yoga, he is currently developing Krishna West, a project dedicated to making Bhagavad-Gita’s ancient spiritual wisdom accessible and user-friendly in Western countries.