Description

There have been literally hundreds of translations of the Bhagavad-gita published in English alone, which is evidence that the voices from ancient India are still speaking to us in modern times. Bhagavad-gita: A Photographic Essay is an artistic presentation of the key philosophical ideas of the Bhagavad-gita, As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The author, a follower of the Gita’s teachings since 1971, highlights selected translations and commentary by Srila Prabhupada with the aid of powerful photographic illustrations. Her talents of writing and photography combine to give readers a clear understanding of the Gita’s sublime message.

The Independent Publisher Book Awards were conceived in 1996 as a broad-based, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the independent publishing industry. The awards are intended to bring increased recognition to and reward those who exhibit the courage, innovation, and creativity to bring about change in the world of publishing. In the Inspirational/ Spiritual category in 2011, an award went to Bhagavad-gita: A Photographic Essay by Visakha.

Visakha Dasi received an Associate of Applied Science degree with honors from Rochester Institute of Technology and shortly afterwards published her first book, Photomacrography: Art and Techniques. In 1971 she traveled to India, where she met Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, read his Bhagavad-gita As It Is and eventually became his student. As a photographer, she traveled with and photographed Bhaktivedanta Swami and his students in India, Europe and the United States. As a writer, she wrote numerous magazine articles and three books on the Bhagavad-gita. Visakha also assists her husband, John Griesser, in making documentary films. They live with their children and grandchildren in Sharanagati Village, a rural community in British Columbia, Canada, where Visakha is writing a memoir, Bhagavad-gita and One Life Transformed.