Bhagavad GitaNovember 5, 2006 0 out of 2 found this review helpful
An excellent English translation and has notes to help you understand the original text. A timeless reminder of why we were born and how to try and live our lives with compassion and understanding. The world could use more knowledge on these concepts.
The Bhagavad Gita : A Walkthrough for WesternersMay 4, 2006 3 out of 6 found this review helpful
Exceptional, it reads clearly, like an NIV ##### with the message 5000 years old. This order makes 11 that I've bought for friends.
It consistently captures my heart and mindJanuary 8, 2006 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have read several versions of the Bhagavad Gita and love them all. Jack Hawley's version brings alive, in a fresh and practical way, the mysteries and truths of this ancient sacred teaching. I use it as a resource to quote in my writings because it is so clear and so appropriate to our current life. But the only problem is: each time I pick it up to find a quote, I can't put it back down! The words are so alive that they instantly capture my heart and mind and I can't help but spend a few extra moments dwelling in its essence before going back to work.
The most understandable edition for westernersJune 29, 2005 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have about 5 translations of the Gita and have found them all hard to understand except this one. This book makes the Gita completely clear and can be read straight through without wading through tons of difficult and not-to-the-point side notes about each verse. The "translation" includes the explanation, just as if Krishna were teaching to a westerner. It is great.
Gita-phobes fear not! Hawley spoon-feeds you the EZ way :-)February 1, 2005 30 out of 31 found this review helpful
Have you heard of the Bhagavad Gita, but that's the extent of your knowledge about it? Are you interested in reading this ancient text but are less than confident in your ability to understand it? Are you not exactly a religious or ancient history scholar? Are you more comfortable with reading paragraphs of prose than stanzas of poetry? Have you read or tried to read the Gita before but aren't quite sure you "got it"? Then this may be the Gita for you!
Jack Hawley's "A Walkthrough for Westerners" is the version used in my beginners' "Intro to the Bhagavad Gita and Tao Te Ching" class. The instructor has read many versions of the Gita and figures we semi-clueless westerners are most likely to understand this version. :-)
This version reads like a novel/sermon. If you can read the newspaper, you can successfully read and understand this version of the Gita. Helpful features for beginners include:
* A discussion of why to read the Gita - The nutshell version is that the Gita is full of advice for living--timeless advice and wisdom that is as relevant to 21st century westerners as it was to ancient warriors. And besides, we all have inner warriors. * Advice on how to read it - Hawley tells us to be receptive, to not immediately dismiss things we read, to not take things literally, to apply the advice to our own inner battles, and to not get wrapped in issues such as whether war is justified. His discussion is worth reading, no matter which version of the Gita we select. * Setting up the story - Hawley doesn't just launch into the Gita without explanation. He tells us, "The year is 3141 B.C.E. Arjuna, an esteemed warrior-prince at the height of his powers...is readying to go into battle. It is a righteous fight to regain a kingdom rightfully his...." Hawley doesn't provide the detailed dysfunctional multi-generational feuding family saga, but just enough to understand the Gita. * Mysterious Sanskrit words are explained - Don't know your dharma from your karma? Not to worry! Hawley explains the Sanskrit words, often in parentheses where the word appears in the text. The reader doesn't need to break the flow of reading to look up a term. Some terms are explained many times such as jnana (spiritual wisdom or knowledge) and atma (the true self within). A beginner could turn to any page at random and probably understand what's on the page. A seasoned Gita scholar might find so much explanation a little annoying, but it's rather seamlessly done and doesn't detract from the reading.
Is there a downside to reading this version? Possibly. Ironically, the upside of writing the Gita in easy-to-understand prose might also be a downside. The Gita is an epic poem, which is generally translated stanza-by-stanza into a poem in English and other languages. We lose the poetry feel and rhythm in this translation. But this is a tradeoff, because this version is highly understandable and not everyone is a "poetry person." To picture this tradeoff, imagine the Shakespeare plays have been translated into modern English prose. Instead of "To be or not to be" we have, "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, paces back and forth contemplating suicide." The reader doesn't have the confusion of "what the heck is he talking about?" but the reader doesn't have the AHA! moment of, "Ah yes, he's contemplating suicide." If you're a reader who likes to read poetry or symbolism and to try to figure things out for yourself, this spoon-fed version might not be best for you.
If you want to maintain the best of both worlds--a poetry and cadence closer to the original Gita but with the easy-to-understand prose of Hawley's version, you might want to read a poetry translation of the Gita such as Stephen Mitchell's translation alongside Hawley's translation. I would begin with the poetry translation, read a section, meditate on it and process it, then read Hawley's version for the plain English lowdown.
Hawley writes that his mantra in writing this version of the Gita was "clarity and flow". He has certainly achieved that! I recommend this version for beginning and intermediate "gitatologists", preferably with a poetry version alongside.
