The Bhagavad Gita According to GandhiRegarded in India as one of the most important books of the 20th century, Gandhi’s commentary on this classic Hindu text addresses the issues he felt most directly affected the spiritual lives of common people. The Bhagavad Gita, also called The Song of the Lord, is a 700-line section of a much longer Sanskrit war epic, the Mahabharata, about the legendary conflict between two branches of an Indian ruling family. Framed as a conversation between Krishna, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, and a general of one of the armies, the Gita is written in powerful poetic language meant to be chanted. Equally treasured as a guide to action, a devotional scripture, a philosophical text, and inspirational reading, it remains one of the world’s most influential, widely read spiritual books. The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi is based on talks given by Gandhi between February and November 1926 at the Satyagraha Ashram in Ahmedabad, India. During this time—a period when Gandhi had withdrawn from mass political activity—he devoted much of his time and energy to translating the Gita from Sanskrit into his native Gujarati. As a result, he met with his followers almost daily, after morning prayer sessions, to discuss the Gita’s contents and meaning as it unfolded before him. This book is the transcription of those daily sessions. |
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ahimsa Arjuna ashram Atman attachment attain austerity become Bhagavad Gita bhakti Bharata Bhishma birth body born Brahmacharya Brahman chapter creatures cultivate death dedication delusion described desire devotion dhananjaya dharma divine doer duryodhana duty everything evil eyes faith fear feel fight fruit of action God’s gods Gujarati gunas happiness heart ignorance imperishable intellect karma yoga Kaunteya Kauravas kill kinsmen Knower knowledge Kshatriya live Lord Mahabahu Mahabharata Mahatma Gandhi man’s means mind moksha nature never nonviolence objects one’s oneself ourselves pairs of opposites Pandava Partha peace perfection perform perish person pleasure practice prakriti prayer rajas realize reason renounced renunciation sacrifice Sankhya sannyasa sattva sattvic seers senses shastra Shri Krishna says soul spirit strive suffering Supreme tamas teaching tell thee things Thou art thou shalt thought three gunas translation truth understand universe Unmanifest Vedas verse wicked words worship yajna yogi