River of Compassion: A Christian Commentary of the Bhagavad Gita

by Bede Griffiths

River of Compassion is a reflection on one of the most sacred texts of Hinduism. Father Bede Griffiths shows how the Gita can be a practical spiritual guide to a Christian on the spiritual path. This commentary has been written for the benefit of people who have little or no knowledge of the background to these texts, need a sense of direction to help understand the bearing that these works could have on their own lives, and want to use the Gita as a practical guide in their spiritual life.

Genres: Religion, Hinduism

Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Bede Griffiths (1906-1993), born Alan Richard Griffiths and also known as Swami Dayananda (Bliss of Compassion), was a British-born Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in South India. He was born at Walton-on-Thames, England and studied literature at Magdalen College, Oxford under professor and Christian apologist C. S. Lewis, who became a lifelong friend. Griffiths recounts the story of his conversion in 1931 to Roman Catholicism while a student at Oxford in his autobiography The Golden String.

Although he remained a Catholic monk he adopted the trappings of Hindu monastic life and entered into dialogue with Hinduism.

Griffiths was a proponent of integral thought, which attempts to harmonize scientific and spiritual world views. In a 1983 interview he stated,

"We're now being challenged to create a theology which would use the findings of modern science and eastern mysticism which, as you know, coincide so much, and to evolve from that a new theology which would be much more adequate."

Reviews

[Lara Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 stars for the translation of the Bhagavad Gita, 3 for the comments. Although I have to confess that they very well fulfill their goal of embedding the spiritual teachings of the Gita into Christianity. I would probably only recommend this version to convinced Christians for all other readers a more neutral commentary would probably be less confusing.

[Cathy Hartle]

I may pick this up again later, but I just couldn't get into this book during the busy summertime!