Comments on: Yoga Summer Reads – Favorites from Online Yogis

By: Bob Weisenberg

Bob Weisenberg — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:05:06 +0000

You’re welcome, Charlotte. See if you can get your friend to write a comment here about here favorite versions of the Gita. I think you happened upon one of the best already, but I know I want to read others, too.

Thanks again for you fun site.

Bob W.

By: Charlotte Bradley

Charlotte Bradley — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 01:26:56 +0000

Thank you for your insight into the Gita and the Sutras. I agree that this is an excellent version of the Bhagavad Gita
(although I don’t have much to compare it to as it is the only version I have read). I have a friend who makes it a goal to read a different version each year and she recommended Stephen Mitchell to me.

I am currently reading Nischala Joy Devi’s interpretation of the Sutras – “The Secret Power of Yoga” and I really love this heartfelt take on Patanjali’s writings.

By: Bob Weisenberg

Bob Weisenberg — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:20:27 +0000

For those of you who have always wanted to absorb the spectacular wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, but have found it difficult, I highly recommend Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation by Stephen Mitchell. This is my fourth version and sixth reading of the Bhagavad Gita. I have gotten a lot from all four versions, but Mitchell’s is clearly the most accessible and enjoyable, without sacrificing any of the meaning.

The Bhagavad Gita is quite literally about falling in love with the indescribable wonder of the universe, that is to say, God. These two are synonymous in the Gita. (Believe it or not, the text itself says that you can approach God as either an unfathomable cosmic life force or as an intimate personal diety. Either leads you to the same boundless love and joy.)

The Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutra are two of the most important ancient texts of Yoga. They could not be more different. The Yoga Sutra is mostly secular in nature, and mentions God only briefly and perfunctorily. The Bhagavad Gita, in contrast, is literally “The Song of the Beloved Lord”, and most of the text is the word of God himself.

The Yoga Sutra is a cookbook for achieving inner peace. The Bhagavad Gita, in contrast, won’t settle for anything less than ECSTATIC UNION WITH THE DIVINE. Put them together and you have the astounding whole of Yoga philosophy in two relatively short texts.

Try Mitchell’s version of the Bhagavad Gita. You’ll be glad you did.