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Summary: A DIVINE-INSPIRED SCRIPTURE
Review: No spiritual aspirant or student of comparitive religion should be without this. Paramahansa Yogananda's brilliant commentary on the Bhagavad Gita is the most profound, lucid and insightful translations ever written in English. In the numerous cross references to the Holy Bible, he seals the gap between the Eastern and Western spiritual traditions seamlessly. It must be the bible that Jesus Christ never wrote!
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Summary: The Most Important Scripture of the 1900's
Review: Paramahansa Yogananda's translation of the Bhagavad Gita is the singularly most profound book about religion I have ever read. It will astound you with divine knowledge first revealed herein. It demonstrates repeatedly the linkages between science and religion and provides the entire basis for yoga (or union with God). The depth of meaning and clarity of truth of this translation will be apparent after reading only a few paragraphs, yet each paragraph should be pondered deeply and with reverence. Ultimately, these yoga teachings must be practiced and Self Realization Fellowship can provide the means of practice. This book is the "Holy Bible" of Yoga and the most important scripture of the 1900's.
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Summary: A Deep and Priceless Translation
Review: Previously, I had only read a few translations of the Gita: Srila Prabhupada's, some Penguin Books translation, and some other random translation. Of them all, Srila Prabhupada's translation was the best, but still left something to be desired for me. Paramahansa Yogananda's translation has satisfied that sense that something was missing. Yogananda dives into the deepest meanings within the text on all the levels that it operates to give the reader such a crystal clear understanding of the full significance and intent of each verse. Its a must read for anyone who seeks to understand the Gita.
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Summary: Drawing the ocean out of a pot
Review: The Hindi saying "Gagar mein Sagar," or The Ocean in a Pot, is particularly applicable to the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita must surely be one of the shortest scriptures in the world -- it has only 700 two-line verses. Yet in those 700 verses lies an unlimited wealth of wisdom. However, most people only see a pot of water, some sense there is more to it, but it takes a person of realization to draw out the ocean from the pot. The Gita has been debated down the centuries in India, and in the West since the first European language translations appeared in the 18th century. However, scholars and theologians who only analyze it with the intellect have often been baffled with the text. For instance, some verses of the Gita's later chapters sometimes apparently contradict what was said earlier. When a saint or a sage comments on the Gita, it is a different story. There is no contradiction; obscure lines are explained with a simplicity that is brilliant. Many sages such as Adi Shankaracharya have left us their commentaries, and now the grand tradition is kept up by the scintillating commentary of Paramahansa Yogananda, one of the spiritual giants of the 20th century. With deep perception, Yogananda explains how the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna that occurred on a battlefield in a bygone millennium is as relevant in the here and now to you and me as it was to people way back then. The ancient warriors are an allegory to the battle of life -- that tug-of-war in our bodies, minds and souls with different forces pulling us in different directions. It shows how the Gita is a blueprint for emerging victorious. The numerous cross-references to the Holy Bible underline the contention that truth is, in essence, one -- the various religions just state it differently. This is surely one of the greatest commentaries ever written on the Bhagavad Gita; it is a book for the ages.
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Summary: MASTER GUIDEBOOK TO SELF-REALIZATION!
Review: These two volumes of wisdom must contain dozens original, unique and practical spiritual insights for daily living. This does not include the many other regular instructions and explanantions about yoga and religion. In many books one does a lot of tedious reading just to find one gem. This is a vitual diamond mine. It seems to never stop giving up more and more living treasures. PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA gives us the Sanskrit, then the verse in English, followed by a profound by very clear and meaningful lesson from most of the Gita's 700 verses. It was the Holy Bhagavad Gita through which I found out the real meaning of Christ's teachings, which is only logical since India is where he spent such a long time. It was not uncommon back then, (even as now)for serious spiritual seekers to venture to INDIA to learn from the great Yogis and saints. My experience in this regard is not so unusual, as I have met a number of good people who had the same revelation when studying the Gita. Many great souls of the East an West give high honor to the Gita, which has given Hinduism it's enduring spiritual vitality since long before the time of Jesus. Yogananda's precise use of the English language brings out the flawless living insights of this timeless scripture in a way one sees only in the greatest literature. No redundant flowery phrases, or pointless wanderings of vague oratory. The powerful truths literally vibrate with the author's living spiritual presence. This could be the most outstanding religious commentary of the 20th century.Read it and see what you experience. If you want to feel the presence of a soul through which God clearly speaks, read "GOD TALKS WITH ARJUNA". It is possible to open this scripture on any page and find your way to new depths, inspirations, and revelations. "Wherever one is on the way back to God, the Gita will shed its light on that segment of the journey" by Paramahansa Yogananda,from the introduction. It is wonderful that so many people in Am! erica were able to witness Yogananda's living expression of all that Jesus and Krishna teach in the holy books. He was as one of those Prophets, walking amongst us even still. Also - be sure to read the "AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI" by the same author, and you will learn about the modern living Christ-like Masters of Kriya Yoga, and others. Yogananda's life and writ, clearly puts to rest the claims of those who say that the wonderful occurances of Divine love and healing are a thing of the past! Yogananda established the SELF-REALIZATION FELLOWSHIP as the only path for the publication and disemination of his teachings of Kriya yoga,and his writings, as directed by Babaji. Lets all work together through His Great Path.
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Summary: Makes Real Sublime truths in Bhagavad Gita
Review: This commentary on the Bhagavad Gita by Sri Paramahansa Yogananda is truly unique. Well-bound, and in two volumes the author lays out in great detail the practical philosophy of the Gita. The commentary on chapter one of the Gita alone introduces one to the whole psychological battle in man and the relationships of different characters in the Mahabharata, of which the Gita is a part, to the metaphysical battle which Everyman has to engage in to gain freedom for himself and salvation. Subsequent chapters details the steps to be taken for this sublime task. All men will find where they are in their metaphysical evolution described in these pages and more importantly the next steps to be taken in the path to freedom. The commentary ends with the sublime promise in Chapter eighteen given by Krishna(God) to Arjuna(the devotee) to redeem and restore those loyal to Him. There have been many commentaries on the Gita but this one stands out for its all-sidedness. Not merely intellectual though it might satisfy those of such a persuasion, it lays out in exactness various practical methods of yoga never before brought to the public eye. Those of a devotional temperament will find enough to feed their needs too.To summarise the special appeal of this book is that repeatedly, in almost every verse, it descends to the level of everyday life and the application of the Gita to the conundrums faced by mankind in mundane life. The best I can say for this book is that even an atheist will find something useful here, a book which is entitled "God Talks to Arjuna".
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Summary: A High Spiritual Experience
Review: This is an unbelievably enlightening work. It transports you out of this world so you can look at man and creation as it really is. Awesome. Inspiring.
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Summary: It will take a lifetime to totally digest this book.
Review: This is indeed a holly book. It involves ancient universal truths. It encompasses every aspect of life and gives you the razor sharp road to liberation. This is not a book you can read in a lazy afternoon. Each paragraph needs to be savored and relished. You can spend hours contemplating about the meaning of the stanzas. Yet, the entire book is very simple if you chose to see it as such.
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Summary: Superb and Most Inspiring
Review: This is one single book which is pouring out the heart and mind of the author who has submerged himself in the Realisation of God. I started doing meditation by reading this book and as most of the procedure is given in this book started actually looking at spirtual eye and the pole star. Sometimes automatically get something rising up my spine in the early hours when I meditate and all these have been achieved by reading and meditating. The hearing of cosmic sound 'om' even after closing the ears is another benefit I started getting after reading this book and practicing meditation. This book never talks of any religion and gives in depth the meaning of this great epic in simple terms. It should be termed as a treatise on Yoga.
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Summary: An inspired commentary by a spiritual master
Review: Those who have read Autobiography of a Yogi will probably be at least curious re. this version of the Gita, translated by the Autobiography's author, Paramahansa Yogananda. In the forward it says that this was Yogananda's last great work--he spend a long time in solitutde to leave this translation and his massive commentary on it to the world. The book is a Gita for Gita lovers. It goes as deeply as possibgle inbot each verse. If you are new to the Gita you might want to ease into it with another great three volume commentary by Eknath Easwaran. The first volume is entitled "The End of Sorrow," and it makes the Gita very accessible to the western reader with all sorts of anecdotes from everyday experience to help illuminate the passages. Paramahansa Yogananda's Gita is, to me, for those firmly on the spiritual path. For them it is manna from heaven.
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