The Bhagavad Gita By Miller Barbara Stoler

by Barbara Stoler Miller

The Bhagavad Gita has been an essential text of Hindu culture in India since the time of its composition in the first century A D As one of the great religious classics of world literature it has inspired such diverse thinkers as Henry David Thoreau Mahatma Gandhi T S Eliot and Thomas Merton Set on an ancient battlefield where the armies of rival cousins stand ready to do battle the GITA recounts the epic tale of the warrior prince Arjuna as he confronts a life or death moral dilemma What is the purpose or justice of war Where does the right path of action lie when one duty conflicts with another Gradually through the intercession of his charioteer the god Krishna Arjuna is led to a higher understanding of the spiritual nature of man and the world Encompassing both the personal and the transcendent Arjuna s dialogue with Krishna has resonated through the ages with the terrible beauty of ultimate revelation Book jacket

Genres: Philosophy

Library Binding

About the author

Barbara Stoler Miller (August 8, 1940 – April 19, 1993) was a scholar of Sanskrit literature. Her translation of the Bhagavad Gita was extremely successful and she helped popularize Indian literature in the U.S. She was the president of the Association for Asian Studies in 1990.

Reviews

[Nithya Sastry · Rating 5 out of 5]

the gift of the gita is the grace that I always used to struggle to keep in my head. i’m blessed that my culture has the knowledge necessary to keep my mind out of the darkness of confusion and nihilism.

I just need to keep remembering that my work here will never be done, but that’s just the gift of freedom which I used to think was such a curse. I am grateful for those who found me at the right time and place to show me how opposites are complementary and and how I am free to accept people as they are. I can keep taking steps in that direction, because like Krishna says, you have no choice but to fight the battle.

the best part is that we are all One, and there are no exceptions to this rule, no matter how twisted you think human beings can be. individual beings all have a right to their own actions, but ultimately we are all playing within the same rules set by the vision of the Divine

[Bacchantetriste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review of the Gita itself: This was so transformative to me, I was taking NOTES, fantastic piece of literature that everyone should read.

Review of the translation: I had issues trying to understand the meaning of the text. Miller uses a lot of terminology (good, evil, heaven, hell, sinners, demons, etc.) that IMO has way too much Christian meaning to map onto the Gita without bringing in a bunch of Christian baggage, and if I hadn't researched more I think I would have walked away not truly understanding "the point".

[Alejandro Favela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding epic with a lot of fascinating perspectives and ideas; very many which I shall incorporate and be mindful of. I shall reread this version or another "Baghavad-Gita" later in life in hopes I discover a new perspective

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know that any elaboration on Hindu philosophy would make a more compelling case for life and how to live it than Buddhism for me, but it's clear why this was (and to a degree still is) so influential.

[I'm EEPY · Rating 3 out of 5]

probably lame to review an old ass book like this, but the glossary should've been in the front, and the use of anglicized terms did not enhance my understanding of the text

[Sona Kurella]

Assigned and read pages 21-146.
Delights from external objects are wombs of suffering; in their beginning is their end, and no wise man delights in them.