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A review by leonard_gaya
The Bhagavad Gita by Simon Brodbeck, Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
5.0
Horses kick and neigh restlessly. Horns blare, drums rumble across the field of Kurukshetra. Mighty warriors clench their jaws, their blades eager to draw blood. Krishna drives Arjuna’s chariot between the opposing armies to shoot the first arrow. But Arjuna looks around and sees his brothers, cousins, uncles, teachers, friends, and compatriots. They will all be killed. His heart drops, his legs give out, he drops his bow — time freezes. Arjuna and Krishna now sit between the two suspended armies. Arjuna asks Krishna for advice, and Krishna starts to talk: he teaches Arjuna about Atman and Brahman, about jnana, bhakti, karma and raja yoga, about Purusha, prakriti and the three gunas, about acting and selflessly renouncing the fruits of action, about meditation, moksha and his divine nature. He talks for a long time, and his heart radiates like a thousand suns. This is the Bhagavad Gita.
Western literature abounds in pre-battle moments like this one. For instance, Hector taking leave of his wife and son ([b:The Iliad|1371|The Iliad|Homer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388188509l/1371._SX50_.jpg|3293141], VI, 440-493) or King Henry V galvanising his soldiers at Agincourt ([b:Henry V|37526|Henry V|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331563646l/37526._SY75_.jpg|1493394], IV, 3). But there is nothing quite like the Bhagavad Gita — this sudden cliffhanger and suspension of epic action, giving way to an extensive ethical and metaphysical deliberation. Imagine Hector sitting down to discuss at length with Apollo about the ultimate meaning of life and the cosmos; or say, Arthur and Merlin, conversing about Neoplatonism, or Harry and Falstaff debating on [a:Montaigne|17241|Michel de Montaigne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1332479195p2/17241.jpg], or even Frodo and Gandalf stopping to talk about [a:Freud|10017|Sigmund Freud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1406688955p2/10017.jpg] and [a:Marx|7084|Karl Marx|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1523865402p2/7084.jpg] before the gates of Mordor! Nothing like this ever happens, at least not to such an extent.
At any rate, Krishna’s teachings are a landmark of Hindu religious and philosophical culture, in keeping with the [b:Vedas|463877|The Rig Veda|Wendy Doniger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1311645824l/463877._SY75_.jpg|452304] and the [b:Upanishads|290882|The Upanishads|Anonymous|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327881361l/290882._SY75_.jpg|162727], only comparable in monotheistic religions with the Book of Job or the Sermon on the Mount. However, some of these ancient teachings may have travelled very early on down the Westward trade routes — perhaps during the Macedonian empire of Alexander? And so, the similarities with Western philosophy are pretty striking. We can find parallels, for instance, with Stoicism: Krishna’s teachings on leading one’s life according to the dharma is not very different from that of ancient Stoics, stating that one must act in conformity with the logos. Similarly, Krishna’s precept of karma yoga — renouncing the results of one’s actions — is comparable to the Stoic eudaimonistic doctrine — focusing on what you can control (and surrendering what you can’t).
Indeed, the Gita is a trove of wisdom and spiritual insights that has influenced prominent thinkers such as [a:Emerson|12080|Ralph Waldo Emerson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1393555704p2/12080.jpg], [a:Aldous Huxley|3487|Aldous Huxley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1547138835p2/3487.jpg], [a:Hermann Hesse|1113469|Hermann Hesse|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1499981916p2/1113469.jpg] and personalities like Mahatma Gandhi. Nowadays, the Gita is also a staple read for yoga practitioners and quite a few New Age movements and adepts of magical thinking worldwide. However, as with most religious texts, the Gita could also be misread and abused to serve questionable political aims and fundamentalist ideologies.
For a modern reader, in a world where concentration camps and nuclear armageddon are always a menace, Krishna’s martial teachings may sound deeply disturbing. The precept to act and forgo the outcomes or rewards of action can be subtly bent and altered for propaganda and harmful purposes: demand that people obey orders unquestioningly and perform their duties callously. The leaders of Nazi Germany picked up the Gita (as well as [a:Wagner|13890|Richard Wagner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1400001058p2/13890.jpg], [a:Nietzsche|1938|Friedrich Nietzsche|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1455294131p2/1938.jpg] and many other crowns of civilisation) to do just that. Most “holy wars” and jihads work much in the same way, with the blessing of some religious authority. Any totalitarian regime or unscrupulous corporation could do the same again today.
At the other end of the spectrum, Eknath Easwaran was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. His edition and introduction interpret the Gita with a pacifist outlook, as an allegory of “the war within” and focuses almost entirely on the mystical aspects of the text, contrasting Krishna’s arguments with some of the most prominent texts of Western mysticism: [a:Meister Eckhart|73092|Meister Eckhart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1268596354p2/73092.jpg], [a:John of the Cross|19568117|John of the Cross|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1604328661p2/19568117.jpg] and [a:Teresa of Ávila|74226|Teresa of Ávila|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1236231673p2/74226.jpg] — in this sense, the beatific vision in ch. 11 of the Gita is unparalleled, even when compared with the end of Dante’s [b:Paradiso|6656|The Divine Comedy|Dante Alighieri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390760180l/6656._SY75_.jpg|809248].
All in all, Easwaran’s prose translation smoothes the rough edges of the Sanskrit original, simplifying the many names, designations and typographic quirks that might feel confusing, and provides a set of valuable commentaries for each section, to make the argument accessible and intelligible for the modern reader. Other editions, like [b:J.A.B. van Buitenen’s translation|118257|The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata|J.A.B. Van Buitenen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436809421l/118257._SY75_.jpg|65563557] or the more recent one by Bibek Debroy (the Gita is included in [b:volume 5|36045119|The Mahabharata Volume 5|Bibek Debroy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1502798847l/36045119._SY75_.jpg|22624687] of his massive ten volumes translation of the entire [b:Mahabharata|26179968|The Mahabharata (Mahabharata, #1-10)|Bibek Debroy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496427298l/26179968._SY75_.jpg|89835746]), are excellent as well. Still, they may take a bit more effort to get into.
Western literature abounds in pre-battle moments like this one. For instance, Hector taking leave of his wife and son ([b:The Iliad|1371|The Iliad|Homer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388188509l/1371._SX50_.jpg|3293141], VI, 440-493) or King Henry V galvanising his soldiers at Agincourt ([b:Henry V|37526|Henry V|William Shakespeare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331563646l/37526._SY75_.jpg|1493394], IV, 3). But there is nothing quite like the Bhagavad Gita — this sudden cliffhanger and suspension of epic action, giving way to an extensive ethical and metaphysical deliberation. Imagine Hector sitting down to discuss at length with Apollo about the ultimate meaning of life and the cosmos; or say, Arthur and Merlin, conversing about Neoplatonism, or Harry and Falstaff debating on [a:Montaigne|17241|Michel de Montaigne|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1332479195p2/17241.jpg], or even Frodo and Gandalf stopping to talk about [a:Freud|10017|Sigmund Freud|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1406688955p2/10017.jpg] and [a:Marx|7084|Karl Marx|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1523865402p2/7084.jpg] before the gates of Mordor! Nothing like this ever happens, at least not to such an extent.
At any rate, Krishna’s teachings are a landmark of Hindu religious and philosophical culture, in keeping with the [b:Vedas|463877|The Rig Veda|Wendy Doniger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1311645824l/463877._SY75_.jpg|452304] and the [b:Upanishads|290882|The Upanishads|Anonymous|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327881361l/290882._SY75_.jpg|162727], only comparable in monotheistic religions with the Book of Job or the Sermon on the Mount. However, some of these ancient teachings may have travelled very early on down the Westward trade routes — perhaps during the Macedonian empire of Alexander? And so, the similarities with Western philosophy are pretty striking. We can find parallels, for instance, with Stoicism: Krishna’s teachings on leading one’s life according to the dharma is not very different from that of ancient Stoics, stating that one must act in conformity with the logos. Similarly, Krishna’s precept of karma yoga — renouncing the results of one’s actions — is comparable to the Stoic eudaimonistic doctrine — focusing on what you can control (and surrendering what you can’t).
Indeed, the Gita is a trove of wisdom and spiritual insights that has influenced prominent thinkers such as [a:Emerson|12080|Ralph Waldo Emerson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1393555704p2/12080.jpg], [a:Aldous Huxley|3487|Aldous Huxley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1547138835p2/3487.jpg], [a:Hermann Hesse|1113469|Hermann Hesse|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1499981916p2/1113469.jpg] and personalities like Mahatma Gandhi. Nowadays, the Gita is also a staple read for yoga practitioners and quite a few New Age movements and adepts of magical thinking worldwide. However, as with most religious texts, the Gita could also be misread and abused to serve questionable political aims and fundamentalist ideologies.
For a modern reader, in a world where concentration camps and nuclear armageddon are always a menace, Krishna’s martial teachings may sound deeply disturbing. The precept to act and forgo the outcomes or rewards of action can be subtly bent and altered for propaganda and harmful purposes: demand that people obey orders unquestioningly and perform their duties callously. The leaders of Nazi Germany picked up the Gita (as well as [a:Wagner|13890|Richard Wagner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1400001058p2/13890.jpg], [a:Nietzsche|1938|Friedrich Nietzsche|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1455294131p2/1938.jpg] and many other crowns of civilisation) to do just that. Most “holy wars” and jihads work much in the same way, with the blessing of some religious authority. Any totalitarian regime or unscrupulous corporation could do the same again today.
At the other end of the spectrum, Eknath Easwaran was a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. His edition and introduction interpret the Gita with a pacifist outlook, as an allegory of “the war within” and focuses almost entirely on the mystical aspects of the text, contrasting Krishna’s arguments with some of the most prominent texts of Western mysticism: [a:Meister Eckhart|73092|Meister Eckhart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1268596354p2/73092.jpg], [a:John of the Cross|19568117|John of the Cross|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1604328661p2/19568117.jpg] and [a:Teresa of Ávila|74226|Teresa of Ávila|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1236231673p2/74226.jpg] — in this sense, the beatific vision in ch. 11 of the Gita is unparalleled, even when compared with the end of Dante’s [b:Paradiso|6656|The Divine Comedy|Dante Alighieri|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390760180l/6656._SY75_.jpg|809248].
All in all, Easwaran’s prose translation smoothes the rough edges of the Sanskrit original, simplifying the many names, designations and typographic quirks that might feel confusing, and provides a set of valuable commentaries for each section, to make the argument accessible and intelligible for the modern reader. Other editions, like [b:J.A.B. van Buitenen’s translation|118257|The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata|J.A.B. Van Buitenen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436809421l/118257._SY75_.jpg|65563557] or the more recent one by Bibek Debroy (the Gita is included in [b:volume 5|36045119|The Mahabharata Volume 5|Bibek Debroy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1502798847l/36045119._SY75_.jpg|22624687] of his massive ten volumes translation of the entire [b:Mahabharata|26179968|The Mahabharata (Mahabharata, #1-10)|Bibek Debroy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496427298l/26179968._SY75_.jpg|89835746]), are excellent as well. Still, they may take a bit more effort to get into.