Journey Into the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita has been interpreted in a wide variety of ways by authors from different schools of thought since long before it became well-known beyond the Indian subcontinent. The many different translations and commentaries we see today bare witness to how many schools of thought, both ancient and modern, claim a connection to the Gita.

That depends on what you mean by "right." My advice is to read the Introduction to several editions of the Gita to get a sense of how the author is approaching their presentation and see which one feels like a good fit for you. Some authors claim that their way is the "correct" way to understand the Gita, in which case you should double-check to see if their interpretation contradicts the self-evident meaning of the verses—a red flag. You can also ask a trusted teacher who has read several different editions of the Gita for a recommendation. I wrote my book because I was asked to make such recommendations and found it hard to do so (necessity is the mother of invention, as they say).

<em>Journey Into the Bhagavad Gita</em> is unlike other editions of the Gita. It includes a rendering of the Sanskrit verses into conversational American English and a comprehensive guide to entering into the Gita's world, but the guidance I offer isn't so much a commentary as it is a toolbox for orienting the reader to the Gita's philosophy, metaphysics, worldview, and emotional core.

It's also not laid out in a typical verse / commentary format. The book is divided into three parts. Part One is designed to help the reader become familiar with the Gita's conceptual framework and structure. Part Two is the Gita itself, with short Preludes to each chapter  that demystify culturally specific references and metaphors the reader  might not be familiar with. Part Three includes a series of short autobiographical stories, exploratory tools, and practical suggestions for connecting the Gita's spiritual ideas to the realities of life in the modern world.

Both the content and its structure are intended to help you hear the Bhagavad Gita's message for yourself, see where its teachings fit into your life, and come to your own conclusion 

Not if you read my presentation of the Gita. I've included everything you need to know about the Gita's literary context, philosophical propositions, cultural assumptions, and place in history for you to be able to dive directly into the Gita's teachings without any prior knowledge about the  Vedic wisdom tradition. 

The most important thing for a reader who's approaching the Gita for the first time is to remember that we reflexively look at everything through the lens of our own cultural frame of reference. Most of us tend to look at spiritual wisdom texts like the Bhagavad-gītā through that same lens.

However, the Gita's philosophical propositions and underlying assumptions about the nature of reality and our relationship to it are fundamentally different from those of contemporary Western culture.

Therefore, my recommendation is to try as best you can to read what the Gita has to say about the nature of the world and then look at the world through the lens that the Gita is offering us rather than look at the Gita through the lens of the modern world. Taking this approach is how to access the Gita's transformative potential. 

Here are a few additional tips:

• don't rush simply to finish; take enough time develop a relationship with the text
• read for understanding rather than information
• pay attention to context
• allow unfamiliar ideas to remain unfamiliar with faith that recognition and resonance will present themselves in due course of time
• use the preludes, summaries, and contemplative exercises I've built into the book as a resource

You'll also find a chapter called Tips for Contemplative Reading with more suggestions about how to get the most out of your reading.

No. Readers can approach the Gita with curiosity and critical inquiry rather than with a commitment to a prescribed set of beliefs. The Gita offers readers universal principles of morality and spirituality, not a doctrine that directs the reader to practice a specific form of faith. This is one of the Gita's unique attributes: it's a presentation of philosophical theology in which faith and reason go hand-in-hand, its teachings can inform the practice of almost any religion, and they can be applied independently of any particular belief system.