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Gita Wisdom: Insights into Sacred Teachings
Insights into Sacred Teachings
It is dawn, just before the start of an epic war. Two armies comprising nearly four million soldiers fill a vast battlefield. Warrior elephants – their armored tusks glistening in the sunlight – trumpet and stomp the ground. Horses tethered to gold-plated chariots pull at their reins, anxious for the attack. Soldiers beat drums, rattle spears, ready bows and arrows. Between the two armies, noble prince Arjuna looks out from his chariot and envisions the destruction to come. This war is a last chance for his family to regain the kingdom stolen from them fourteen years before by ruthless cousins. Yet, in these final moments, he falters. He turns to his friend and mentor Krishna, who serves as Arjuna’s charioteer, and confesses to feelings of horror over the lives that will be lost and shame over his participation.
What follows is a two-hour dialogue, known as the Bhagavad Gita, or “Song of the Supreme Person,” one of the world’s most renowned testimonies to the transformative power of love.
In this highly readable introduction to India’s classic yoga text, scholar-practitioner Joshua M. Greene has created a bridge between the Gita’s millennial wisdom and the world we know. Through crisp renderings of verses and insightful commentary, the author sheds a bright light on profound concepts. In the tradition of theologians writing for uninitiated readers, he has provided a compulsively readable edition of the Gita, one that lures readers into the very human dimension of its sacred teachings.
It is dawn, just before the start of an epic war. Two armies comprising nearly four million soldiers fill a vast battlefield. Warrior elephants – their armored tusks glistening in the sunlight – trumpet and stomp the ground. Horses tethered to gold-plated chariots pull at their reins, anxious for the attack. Soldiers beat drums, rattle spears, ready bows and arrows. Between the two armies, noble prince Arjuna looks out from his chariot and envisions the destruction to come. This war is a last chance for his family to regain the kingdom stolen from them fourteen years before by ruthless cousins. Yet, in these final moments, he falters. He turns to his friend and mentor Krishna, who serves as Arjuna’s charioteer, and confesses to feelings of horror over the lives that will be lost and shame over his participation.
What follows is a two-hour dialogue, known as the Bhagavad Gita, or “Song of the Supreme Person,” one of the world’s most renowned testimonies to the transformative power of love.
In this highly readable introduction to India’s classic yoga text, scholar-practitioner Joshua M. Greene has created a bridge between the Gita’s millennial wisdom and the world we know. Through crisp renderings of verses and insightful commentary, the author sheds a bright light on profound concepts. In the tradition of theologians writing for uninitiated readers, he has provided a compulsively readable edition of the Gita, one that lures readers into the very human dimension of its sacred teachings.
144 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
9 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Joshua M. Greene
27 books61 followersJoshua M. Greene earned his M.A. at Hofstra University, where he taught Hinduism and Holocaust history until his retirement in 2013. His books on war crimes trials and survivor testimony have been published in six languages. He has spoken at the Pentagon, the Judge Advocates College, the New York Public Library Distinguished Author series, and lectures frequently before state bar associations. In 1969, he was initiated as Yogesvara Das by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and spent 13 years in Krishna temples, serving as director of ISKCON’s European publishing office. His books on spirituality include Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison and Gita Wisdom: An Introduction to India’s Essential Yoga Text. His most recent book is a biography of Srila Prabhupada, titled Swami in a Strange Land: How Krishna Came to the West. Greene is also a filmmaker whose Holocaust documentaries have aired on PBS, The Disney Channel, and Discovery.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 29, 2009
great gita-especially for beginners. manages to be a "gita lite" without being too light. preserves the essence of the work without being too epic with the language and is very understandable with great footnotes. This will be the Gita I suggest to people who have always been daunted by this work.
December 26, 2013
The book Gita Wisedom is good for those who have not read any full version of the Bhagvad Gita. Wish short and easy meaning of the Gita verses given out in the book makes it a comfortable read, avoiding the usage of technical details. Wherever, the author could not escape using them, he has well explained the concept in footnotes.
One thing that I would like to have seen is Joshua explaining the concept of the titles of different chapters of Gita i.e. Sankhyayoga, Karmayoga, Gyankarmasamyasayoga, karmasamyasayoga, aatmasamyamyoga and so on for all the eighteen chapters, and why they were named so. It would have helped the reader understand the very purpose of Bhagvad Gita.
One thing that I would like to have seen is Joshua explaining the concept of the titles of different chapters of Gita i.e. Sankhyayoga, Karmayoga, Gyankarmasamyasayoga, karmasamyasayoga, aatmasamyamyoga and so on for all the eighteen chapters, and why they were named so. It would have helped the reader understand the very purpose of Bhagvad Gita.
February 2, 2017
Beautiful! So many verses and quotes were starred and underlined. It's one of those books that it's okay to interact with via pen.
July 8, 2017
If you love footnotes and have interest in the Bhagavad Gita, this book is for you.
November 7, 2017
Enjoyed the footnotes and message/story
December 23, 2017
This is such a sweet introduction to the Bhagavad Gita. I loved it and will always carry it with me. Thank you so much for that read Joshua
October 9, 2022
this was my first introduction to the bhagavad gita after hearing and reading about it for years. I truly appreciate this book for making the overall concepts and truths very digestible because other translations of the text can be very dense and overwhelming to some. the author definitely put effort into his footnotes, which can sometimes be tedious but nonetheless appreciated. i’ll be looking forward to the next translation and interpretation of the gita I find!
January 25, 2022
My first encounter with Bhagavad Gita, The Song Celestial.. Concise and written in an easy to grasp way, the book contains a glossary of main terms and amazing illustrations that propel the reader to the battlefield where Arjuna and Krishna talk about purpose of life, love, God and yoga... Hope you'll enjoy!
July 19, 2023
Greene captures the essence, profundity, and magical mysticism of the Gita without watering it down with his accessible translation. Synthesized masterfully, the verse summaries use a modern lens to glance at ancient grandeur in a way usually dreadfully missed in books like this. This is a fantastic introduction to the Gita and bhakti at large, would recommend to anyone!
December 7, 2023
This is a very concise version with no dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna as the original Bhagavad Gita has, so it ends up skipping many teachings that some people might find important.
I would not recommend this version for those who want to seriously study the Gita. This is more of a summary for a casual reader.
Still, the author's summary at the beginning of every chapter, the footnotes with more explanations, the images, and the glossary at the end of the book made this book enjoyable.
I would not recommend this version for those who want to seriously study the Gita. This is more of a summary for a casual reader.
Still, the author's summary at the beginning of every chapter, the footnotes with more explanations, the images, and the glossary at the end of the book made this book enjoyable.
September 22, 2022
This beautiful book is a light easier to read story version of the Bhagavad Gita ( the Hindu spiritual text ) . I highly recommend if you want to know more about the Bhagavad Gita, or want an easier way to read it Per se.
May 5, 2024
Birthed from his decades of self study and academic rigor, this goes down so smooth, and leaves one feeling renewed, inspired and with a clear understanding of why the Bhagavad Gita is as one of the planets most holy works.
July 4, 2020
somewhat confusing in theories it is imparting but it is much more digestible and lite then other versions of the gita I have seen
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews