Essence of the Bhagavad Gita: A Contemporary Guide to Yoga, Meditation, and Indian Philosophy (Wisdom of India Book 2)

In this companion to his best-selling translation of the Bhagavad Gita, Easwaran explores the essential themes of this much-loved Indian scripture. Placing the Gita in a modern context, Easwaran shows how this classic text sheds light on the nature of reality, the illusion of separateness, the search for identity, and the meaning of yoga. The key message of the Gita is how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep unity of life, through the principles of yoga and the practice of meditation. Easwaran grew up in the Hindu tradition and learned Sanskrit from an early age. A foremost translator and interpreter of the Gita, he taught classes on it for forty years, while living out the principles of the Gita in the midst of a busy family and community life. In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna, the Lord, doesn’t tell the warrior prince Arjuna what to do: he shows Arjuna his choices and then leaves it to Arjuna to decide. Easwaran, too, shows us clearly how these teachings still apply to us – and how, like Arjuna, we must take courage and act wisely if we want our world to thrive.

The Bhagavad Gita, one of India’s most influential scriptures, opens with the warrior-prince Arjuna frozen in indecision on the battlefield. He turns in anguish to his spiritual guide, Sri Krishna, for answers to the fundamental questions of life. For Easwaran, Arjuna’s dilemma represents our own human condition: torn between opposing forces and confused about how to live.

In this completely new book from the author of the best-selling translation of the Gita, Easwaran gives his clear, compelling explanation of its teachings. Based on talks with close students towards the end of his life, this publication is the culmination of forty years of teaching the Gita in the West.

The Gita needs an interpreter of Easwaran’s scholarship and experience to point out the meaning behind the words. He highlights the key themes, explains the terminology, and shares his favorite verses. He also reveals the Gita’s startling insights into the problems threatening our modern civilization.

Like the warrior-prince Arjuna, we must each make wise choices, and in this modern, original interpretation Easwaran shows how the Gita points a way forward for us – both as individuals and in our global society today.

Easwaran explores the nature of reality, the illusion of separateness, the search for identity, the meaning of yoga, and how to heal the unconscious. The key message of the Gita, he argues, is how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep unity of life, through the practice of meditation and spiritual disciplines Annotation The translator of the best-selling Bhagavad Gita offers his explanation of the Gita's teachings and their relevance today n completely new material, clear and compelling