The Bhagavad Gita by Stephen Mitchell

by Stephen Mitchell

Genres: Philosophy, Spirituality, Nonfiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 1711

About the author

Stephen Mitchell was educated at Amherst College, the Sorbonne, and Yale University, and de-educated through intensive Zen practice. He is widely known for his ability to make old classics thrillingly new, to step in where many have tried before and to create versions that are definitive for our time. His many books include The Gospel According to Jesus, The Second Book of the Tao, two books of fiction, and a book of poetry.

Mitchell’s Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke has been called “the most beautiful group of poetic translations [the twentieth] century has produced.” William Arrowsmith said that his Sonnets to Orpheus “instantly makes every other rendering obsolete.” His Book of Job has been called “magnificent.” His bestselling Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, and Gilgamesh—which are not translations from the original text, but rather poetic interpretations that use existing translations into Western languages as their starting point—have also been highly praised by critics, scholars, and common readers. Gilgamesh was Editor’s Choice of The New York Times Book Review, was selected as the Book Sense 2004 Highlight for Poetry, was a finalist for the first annual Quill Award in poetry. His translation of the Iliad was chosen as one of the New Yorker’s favorite books of 2011. He is a two-time winner of the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets.

His books for young readers include The Wishing Bone, winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as the best book of poetry for children published in the United States in 2003, and Jesus: What He Really Said and Did, which was chosen by the American Library Association’s Booklist as one of the top ten religious books for children in 2002.

He is also coauthor of two of his wife Byron Katie’s bestselling books: Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy. www.thework.com

You can read extensive excerpts from all his books on his website, www.stephenmitchellbooks.com.

Reviews

[Carson Sheinberg]

regardless of your religious beliefs, i firmly believe that this is something everyone should read at least once in their life. yogic philosophy teaches us about the self (little “s”)–how we present outwardly, our age, our appearance, things that we have in our capacity to change– vs. the Self (big “S”)– how we are intrinsically to our core, our higher self that remains unchanging. the whole practice of yoga, especially as evidenced in the BG if you read it, is a path to connect these two versions of the self. a term that is often used is “yoke”, which means that we are pulling one part of something to another so that they may converge and reconcile. the BG shows us that the practice of yoga is, above all, about REMEMBERING, for our true self has always been there, and the BG tells us that this soul has lived many lives beyond the present; our goal is to recollect figments of those lives. in this light, we are the seer, and our asanas are a gateway for us to use our inner eyes when so much of life causes us to lose our depths. the goal, then, is for us to attain a sort of informed detachment and subsequent liberation, where yoga acts as a vessel for our remembering and becoming.

[Prajju · Rating 5 out of 5]

As part of my funemployment before grad school starts in a few months, one of my goals is to read more classics— this was a very cool and interesting start! Lots to leave pretty much anyone thinking about

[Rahul Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

There exist dozens of english translations of the Bhagavad Gita, but only a handful which maintain some metrical consistency in the translated verses. This particular translation is one of the better ones, with its consistent restructuring of the original verses into quatrains (without a rhyme scheme).

One minor complaint that I have is that there's little to no discourse about the verses themselves. More exposition, at the very least in the form of footnotes, would have made it a much more complete reading.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for YTT. It was such an interesting read for me, not something I would just pick up, and has me thinking about things in all kinds of ways. I loved breaking it down in YTT today.

Religious/spiritual/philosophical framework

[Chris Tiernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Steven Mitchell's translations. He clearly conveys difficult concepts. There is a lot of wisdom in the Gita.

[Ebaa Momani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful poetry with deep spiritual lessons. Interesting perspective that joins evil and good in one side and one source.

[Isabel Davison · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A poet’s meaning is limitless.” The Gita is absolutely one of the greatest spiritual works that we have on this planet. Not only does it provide stunningly clear, encouraging, and powerful instruction, but it is also a work of deeply beautiful and evocative poetry. Stephen Mitchell does a wonderful job with the translation, and I deeply enjoyed his notes. Perhaps some of my favorite poetic lines of all time come from the Gita, and the Gita is the only poetic work that I have inadvertently memorized aspects of. The text seems to be in celebration of poetry. Krishna himself is called “The Primordial Poet.” Poetry, the primal creative force, from the mystic source that runs through the hand of a physical being. The poet is limited, the poem is limitless.
The core message, renunciation of the fruit of our actions, acting without desire and without attachment to outcome, is the most transformative mode of living - the way to eliminate fear, which is the ultimate distraction from its opposite: love, our true reality. I will do my best to spend my life in practice of renunciation. I lean rajastic, I aim for sattvic.
What bumped this down to a 4.5 and not a 5 stars were chapters 13 on. It is clear that the consciousness and tone changed. Perhaps a change of author or it was written later. It gets bogged down by distasteful and aggressive descriptions of the lower caste, it contradicts Krishna’s love and impartial view towards everyone and everything that is spoken about in the preceding chapters, it contradicts the promise Krishna makes that anyone can train themself in the way of yoga and eventually achieve eternal life. In addition, the poem gets more repetitive and the shining brilliance of the poetry wanes a little. Still, even in these chapters, there are insightful and well-written moments.
A himnsa is still the way to go. Nonviolence. And it lines with up renunciation. In fact, I don’t think it’s possible to renunciate the desire for the fruits of one’s actions and be violent, as the majority of violent acts come from someone trying to assert their will onto another person in order to achieve a specific outcome.
Many thoughts on this. Busy busy busy. The next spiritual text I will read is the Tao, which I have read is not as bogged down with politics. I am grateful I read the Bhagavad Gita and I intend it to be a strong presence in my life and something I will return to again and again. I have been reading so many fantastic books recently that I feel everyone should read but I’m putting this one at my universal must reads along with The Chalice and The Blade and Sacred Pleasure.
OM TAT SAT

[Douglas Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gita is probably one of the most beautifully written religious texts of all time. It's a story of God's love for man and how man can love god with all his heart. It makes me laugh when critics call it a terrible book because it's about Krishna instructing Arjuna how to wage war. How can you be farther from the truth. Although it starts out that way it evolves into something completely different. Besides, there are so many stories in the bible when God calls for the entire annihilation of a people and tribes.

This a wonderful translation. I encourage all, regardless of your religious preference, to read this.

[Wout Lombaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The highest of the highest, as close to pure wisdom as words can be. I've read different versions of this book (4), and this one is one of the most profound translations I've read. The wisdom of the bhagavad gita touches my soul again and again... going deeper every time I've read it. To beauty of deep nondual understanding combined with the practical wisdom of a householder or ruler. Do your duty without longing for the fruits of action, offering all your actions to the eternal ground of the universe. You find you are that ground.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time I've read this and I LOVED it!!!! I'm not sure I can say why, but I loved Krishna's identity as the god force behind all gods, and it was a very loving, kind celebration of the self. Hare Krishna!!

[Natalie Gries · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagvat Geeta, since whose composition years of the gods have elapsed, and in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.” - Thoreau

[Gabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I've read this before. Way back in Freshman year of college for Intro to World religions. This is a beautiful poetic deeply spiritual book. More than just a quick read, it's a coffee table book to pick up time and again for meditation gems or quick hits of wisdom.

[Michael Randle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancient wisdom- made accessible through Mitchell’s translation.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale beyond the religious constructs.
A contemporary approach about embracing the life journey

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the translation you should read

[Dishant Pandey · Rating 3 out of 5]

They say it right !!
It's better to read in Hindi
This is kannda trimmed version so u are asking for a shot of it.
It's good for someone starting such things

[Gianina Padula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing translation and reflection at the end. Lots of great nuggets of knowledge and inspiration throughout that is relevant to all - bhakti yogi or not.

[Kam Ting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting once you get the background of why the story is told. Part of yoga training.

[Blair Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish I knew Sanskrit, but the translator sure does a great job turning it all into high-quality English verse.

[Fletcher]

This version is clear, short, and to the point. I prefer the For Westerners version by Hawley.

[Beth Windel · Rating 5 out of 5]

written as poetry, or a beautiful love song. I like this translation, I finally understand it✨

[Liza Jimenez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

[Dan Mueller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my third time trying to read the translation of the Bhagavad Gita, this one finally landed with me. This translation is accessible and easy to understand. Highly recommended.

[Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would not recommend this translation of the Gita because Stephen Mitchell, the translator, admits to not understanding nor having any experience with Sanskrit xx

[residentemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

To paraphrase some wisdom I gleaned from this book (and then remembered through the help of an other book, The Power by Rhonda Byrne) “an untrained mind acts like an enemy” !!!!

[Neeraj Chepuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read translation with an appendix written by Mohandas Ghandi

[Rylee Witmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Embarrassed to admit I thought that quote was a Bob Oppenheimer original

[Cemre Mercek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okuduktan sonra algımı yaşam ve düşünme şeklimi değiştiren, her yaptığım şeyde kalbimden fısıldayan o kitap. Bu ikinci okuyuşum, ve yine yeniden etkileyici. Yoruma açık, düşünmeye iten bir eser. Hint destanı Mahabharata içine yerleştirilmiş ne zaman yazıldığı bilinmeyen bu eser herkese hayatı yaşayış şeklini, inanç sistemini, insan olmakla ilgili yapılarını sorgulatır; hayat deneyimini iyiye, doğruya yönlendirir diye düşünüyorum. Bir kere okuyunca farkında olmadan sızıyor hayatınıza..en azından benim için öyle oldu. Şiddetle öneriyorum.

[Lucinda Winslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply beautiful. Heart uplifting, eternal. Everything in one book.