Essence of the Bhagavad Gita

From a small operation in Northern California, Eknath Easwaran and the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation continue to produce books of enormous importance. This latest addition to Easwaran's legacy is one of the most insightful to date. If you enjoy Easwaran's teachings, if you're yearning for ultra deep insights into this beloved Hindu scripture, or if you simply want to read elegant prose seasoned with delightfully modern, often amusing stories and analogies, you'll love this book.Many Gita commentaries (including Easwaran's own three-volume set) explore the text passage by passage. Through these, we quickly discern that the battle described in the Gita is not physical but internal and that this battle is won using will power rather than firepower.Beyond the individual words and passages, however, lies much more. Deftly wielding his little but powerful lamp, Easwaran leads us on a spelunking trip deep into the heart of the Gita. Along the way, we encounter wisdom from such varied sources as Shankara, Gandhi, Sri Aurobindo, Spinoza, Jung, Canadian neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, physiologist Hudson Hoagland and others. The journey is at once simple and profound.The book begins by introducing the split in consciousness between our lower and higher selves that causes separateness and struggle. Easwaran explores the nature of reality and personality, explaining that we are not our bodies or our minds (!) and that identification with these imposters keeps us feeling separate from everyone and everything.Beginning with chapter six, we move from theory to practice. Easwaran explains how to heal the split using a system of living that includes meditation, living deliberately and experimenting with our likes and dislikes. The words are practical and enormously compelling.The final three chapters describe the journey of humanity toward its ultimate goal: self-realization. We have no choice but to fight this battle, Easwaran and the Gita insist. Putting our heads in the sand or playing with the toys of life only delays the battle and prolongs our misery. Ultimately, Easwaran's Gita tells us we will not only fight but also win and that this glorious day comes much more quickly when we seize the initiative and realize our potential.This story could only be told by a lifelong student of the Gita, someone who has lived it each day and is now so familiar with it that its words pale against the underlying meaning. Even so, in the hands of a lesser writer, no one but an enlightened being could even understand how the meaning derives from the words. But Easwaran's ideas fit together so well and are so nicely supported by the sparsely used but powerful Gita verses that, by the end, it's utterly impossible to deny both the wisdom of this interpretation and the inevitability of its effect on us.

A beautiful, lucid summarization of core essence of the Gita that can be applied practically to reflect on the mind and the god here is the self.

This book has been produced posthumously from recorded talks. Guided by the author's specific instructions before his death, the editors (long-time students of his) have done a stunning job. (The material in this book has not been previously published.) I hope for at least a few more such posthumous books, and I believe they are in process.The book displays Easwaran's usual graceful clarity of thought and word. But I think this is the deepest of Easwaran's books to date. This one goes deep, deep into the heart and mind of humanity. I've gained insights from this book which I have not gained from his prior books, even though I've studied them all. Maybe I just wasn't ready for these insights until now, I cannot tell for absolutely certain-sure. But I think this book is deeper.I've just finished it; I will re-read it this week, slowly, and ponder its message. I've no doubt it will be read again and again, and become dog-eared rather quickly. It's a life-changing, seriously life-enhancing book, perhaps particularly for those individuals who are chasing material goods and/or power in the sad delusion that these will make them truly happy. But it would be life-enhancing for everyone.In conclusion, I can do no better than copy a sentence from Nalini's review: "Nowhere have I found such a clear exposition of the path into deeper consciousness and how we can truly transform our personalities." This says it all.Pat Meadows (who is deeply grateful to Easwaran and to the editors of this book - Thank you!)

Eknath has a unique ability to translate the essence of the Bhagavad teachings, excellent study tool for practitioners. Highly recommended. Thank you!

In reading Eknath Easwaran's Essence of the Bhagavad Gita, you get the impression of someone who is located at the heart of this spiritual classic looking out while the rest of us are peering in through the outer panes. This can only be a result of Easwaran's scholarly knowledge of the Gita combined with "living the message" in his daily life.From this still point, Easwaran uncovers for us the various layers of the Gita in a rich tapestry. He covers topics such as the nature of reality, levels of personality, our illusion of separateness from the rest of life, the meaning of yoga, healing the unconscious, and so on. These are woven together seamlessly, giving the reader a panoramic view of the Gita that few authors can provide. Easwaran's genius is his ability to describe the timeless truths of the Gita in language that is contextual and easy to comprehend. And yet, as the publisher's note points out, this book is a distillation of 40 years of teaching. Like any other distillation, it is concentrated and must be savored in small portions and repeatedly. That is certainly what I intend to do!

This has really awakened my appreciation as to why prolific texts like the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads are timeless, and have changed the lives of many. The author makes the underlying morals and advice understandable and relevant to anyone in today's world, with his graphic analogies.My intention is to read all of his leading texts, and I'll probably be ready to make the second pass upon completion. As if you hadn't guessed; highly recommended for anyone who wants to find a better world and a richer and more fulfilling life.

My favorite book on vedanta. Well written and easy to understand.

This is a very simple, contemporary interpretation of the great book. I am surprised at the complete lack of reference to religion. Instead one's relationship with a divine power is considered an inward drive, fiercely personal. There is an appeal to that!

Your journey to love and compassion starts here

I have been inerested in the Gita for many years and this is one of the best I have read on the subject. Easwaran is a master in his understanding of the Gita. I have the whole series of the Essence of: the Gita, the Dhammapada and the Upanishads. All are well written and interesting..

Excellent

If you are interested in Indian spirituality this is a very good starting point. Not too academic and most interesting.

Unfortunately this book arrived with pages missing - the book was incomplete. Every second page was blank throughout the entire book.