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| The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita: Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda, As Remembered by His Disciple, Swami Kriyananda | 
 enlarge | Author: Swami Kriyananda
Publisher: Crystal Clarity Publishers
Category: Book
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 130301
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 700
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.8
ISBN: 1565892194
Dewey Decimal Number: 294.5924046
EAN: 9781565892194
ASIN: 1565892194
Publication Date: June 7, 2006
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 24 | | NEXT » |
 An outstanding and timely commentary on the Song Celestial December 11, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
A very wide and learned man from India once said to me that there 'were as many commentaries on the Gita as there are stars in the sky". Although not quite accurate scientifically, there are literally untold commentaries on what is thought by followers throughout the ages to be God taking shape as a human being during a battle on a field north of Delhi India around 5200 BCE. Whether or not one accepts the spiritual nature of the gita, there's no denying it offers insights into almost every imaginable aspect of human behavior -- be it saintly or demonic.
This rendering was told to Swami Kriyananda by his own Guru, the author of Autobiography of a Yogi, perhaps the most recognized book on yoga and Hindu beliefs in modern times, Swami Yogananda. This commentary is unique in that it provides psychological comparisons to the many seemingly confusing names, events, and thoughts passed from Lord Krisha to Arjuna, his friend and a man about to unleash death on 100,000 of his family members and friends.
A must have for the seeker of spiritual growth or just someone who wants to know more about why people do what they do when they do it.
gary in tampa
Swami Kriyananda shows his deep spiritual understanding November 12, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is a must read for all sincere spiritual aspirants, no matter what his/her religion is. This is truly a cosmic text which reaches deep into one's soul. It is a perfect introduction for newcomers to the power and depth of the Bhagavad Gita and for those who seek inspiration daily upon its deep wisdom. The author clearly shows that the Bhagavad Gita is actually deeply allegorical in nature. This book will definitely help the reader to achieve inner bliss if he/she is very sincere about his/her spiritual life.
Swami Kriyananda has produced another gem of wisdom and compassion with this book. If you have nor read the Gita before, this is indeed an excellent recommendation because it is non-sectarian in its approach, compared to some of the books on the Gita out there. This book is simply galvanizing!
Lastly, I would also like to recommend the book The Bhagavad Gita: Royal Science of God-Realization: God Talks with Arjuna: The Immortal Dialogue Between Soul and Spirit (2 volumes) by Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda's guru as well. That book is an equally great masterpiece as well!
Intuitive, Free-Thinking and the BEST commentary on the Bhagavad-gita Ever!!! May 10, 2007
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
An exerpt for the Vaishnava section on Wikipedia website:
"While many schools like Smartism and Advaitism encourage interpretation of scriptures philosophically and metaphorically and not too literally, (Gaudiya)Vaishnavism stresses the literal meaning (mukhya vitti) as primary and indirect meaning (gaua vitti) as secondary: sakhad upadesas tu shrutih - "The instructions of the shruti-shastra should be accepted literally, without fanciful or allegorical interpretations." Jiva Goswami, Krishna Sandarbha 29.26-27" (This is from a Hare Krishna/I.S.K.O.N/Gaudiya sampradayam scripture)
I must say this first,I have been studying the Vedic scriptures since about 96',and, I am sorry to say,I was a Hare Krishna devotee for about four years from 02' to 06'. I was one of the Pujaris or Ceremonial priest in the now defunct Venice Radha-Govinda temple in Venice, Ca. I learned alot of the basic principles of the Vedic religion from them. Outside the elementary principles, much of what they teach is tinged with thier particular sect/cult flavor or doctrine. I.S.K.O.N or the Hare Krishnas believe and see only a historical, surface understanding of the Bhagavad-gita, other scriptures and stories. They critizes,condemn and keep down with fanatical furvor,as I have experienced with them...the notion of a deeper,Intuitive, Spiritual, Philosophical, Esoteric truth to the Vedic scriptures and stories. The whole time I was with them, I felt like I was being intuitively,soulfully,esoterically and philosophically strangled. They believed with the extremism and fanatism of Southern Baptists in the total surface-value,exoteric understanding of the Vedas. I was always chastized and critized for my pro-esoteric/intuitive understanding of the Vedas. Before coming to I.S.K.O.N or Gaudiya math, I always Knew,intuitively and through my own many Spiritual experiences through Vedically-backed meditation as instucted in the Vedas,Yoga-sutras and Tantras, that there was and has always been and always be...a deeper, esoteric, hidden meaning and understanding to the Bible,Gnostic texts, the greek myths, alchemical allegories and symbolism, to the Homeric epics and...to the Vedas,the bhagavad-gita and Puranas. And, come to find out, from Swami Kriyananda and Swami Yogananda and other hindu holy men....this is the proper "Brahminical" or Priest/Yogi Caste understanding of the Revealed scriptures. This is also confirmed in the very scriptures that I.S.K.O.N uses. But, they do not truely acknowledge them. Before coming to I.S.K.O.N and Gaudiya math,I use to love the Bhagavad-gita, and I knew that there was a deeper, esoteric truth to it and other Vedic scripture that ONLY a meditator or some one who had direct experience in Linking and Communion between God and the Soul. The Real Brahmin Caste in India Truely understand this, and Actually, the term Brahmana, means "One who KNOWS Brahman" or one who has attain this Linking and Communion with God or Brahman. This is what Makes a Brahmin...I.S.K.O.N talks about this truth, but, thier understanding of a "Brahmana" is that of the physical caste person performing rituals and even then, they are against them also. Their Translation of the Bhagavad-gita, Sri Isopanishad and other Vedic scriptures are the most Blantantly mistranslated editions of these scriptures I have ever came across. Mistranslated and writen to suit their particular cult/sect slant, flavor and agenda. I read their particular translation 3 times since 02', and, for a time, it has totally turned me off from the Bhagavad-gita...sorry to say. And, it has bothered me that my experiences in the cult I.S.K.O.N or the Hare Krishnas has affected so much that it Burnt me on the Bhagavad-gita. Since leaving the temple on Watseka ave., I couldnt even look at other Bhagavad-gitas with out thinking about the extreme mistranslations of the I.S.K.O.N one and the fanaticsm,extremism and philosophical and physical intimidation of this group. This has really bothered me. Then one week ago, while I was at a barns and nobles, I accidentally came across this book. And, it has been a breath of freash air.This book proves my original intuitions of the Scripture were correct and gives insight to much, much more. It flys in the face of the fanatical, and in certain verses, the absolutely incorrect translations of this group. This book of Swami Kriyanandas has all but disolved the Southern Baptist/Christian evangelistic-like understanding of the Hare Krishnas for the Vedas. And, it is nice that there are others who agree with the Inner-Intuitive TRUTH of the Scriptures. And that there are others who are Free-Thinkers and above Fananticism. This book of Swami Kriyanandas has brought me back to the Bhagavad-gita....like the prodical Son, coming back to his Father.
a must have companion February 11, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I cannot put into words the impact this book has had on me. This is my 4th translation of this text and this one is the best. Originally I started reading the Bhagavad Gita as it has a calibration of 910 (David Hawkins, Power vs. Force. It is a cosmic text which reaching out of the book and touches ones soul. This version is a joy to read. It is a dessert fresh from a tree. It is a day not too hot with gentle breezes. God becomes the companion rather than the gloom and doom king/parent/authority. Many of my friends now have this book just from seeing the joyful change in me.
A Modern Recast of Age Old Wisdom February 8, 2007
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
The first version of the Gita that I read through completely, was a small book written by Christopher Isherwood. A disciple of Swami Prabhavananda (see 'My Guru and his Disciple' by Christopher Isherwood), it was given out by the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in California. In vers libre format, it burnished my budding apetite for genuine spirituality at the time (early 1980's) with new wings. I soared with the loftiness of the message deeply resonating with the glorious descriptions of the magnificience of the Self during those early and halcyon days of my quest.
26 years later, I find a new version of the same holy book. Also by a Westerner, but probably one who understands the Hindu religion and what it stands for, better than most practising Hindus do. Reading this book, got the same lofty feelings to well forth, but this time I sense deep undercurrents of feeling attached to the concepts of this age old treatise, yielding a new dimension and richness to the presentation of these holy truths. Having been born and bred an American, Kriyananda has been able to convey the holy message of this text in a way that is tailored to the demands of a fast paced modern society, going increasingly global every day.
In the early chapters of this book, the allegorical link between the five Pandava brothers and the chakra system is explained. This is relatively esoteric material that has never appeared before, at least to my knowledge. Later on, the Gita is analyzed, stanza by stanza, beginning with a Sanskrit paragraph and its literal English translation, followed by an extensive commentary in each case. In these commentaries, Kriyananda puts down in writing his own memories of his Guru's comments on the various passages of the Bhagavad Gita. For the benefit of those interested in reincarnation, Yogananda had said that he himself had been an incarnation of Arjuna, the Pandava prince, who received the information from Krishna firsthand. That fact could probably be one of the factors that account for the interpretational depth of these writings. Wherever possible, connections to other major religions are cited and the explanations are forthright and lucid. In particular, there is a section on the physical aspects of Kriya Yoga which is the science of breath as taught by Paramahamsa Yogananda and which has only been recently released to the general public. The physiological consequences of a regular practice of this process are explored. This is also material that has never appeared before.
One of the greatest strengths of this book is that it is a fast read and holds one's attention, even as these eternal truths unfold one by one. This work is unquestionably a labour of love, being Kriyananda's magnum opus after eighty plus books.
In closing, I would like to mention, that like all Scripture, the Bhagavad Gita is only a book. It is a miniscule version of the ecstasy that ISNESS emanates, although one may and does feel whiffs of the same from the reading. The real task of experiencing the ISNESS is, of course, a different story, but this book could be a useful tool along the way.
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