|
Results for Bhagavad-Gita
|
On this page:
|
A sacred Hindu text that is incorporated into the Mahabharata and takes the form of a philosophical dialogue in which Krishna instructs the prince Arjuna in ethical matters and the nature of God.
[Sanskrit bhagavad-gītā, song of the Blessed One (Krishna) : bhagavat-, fortunate, blessed (from bhagaḥ, good fortune) + gītā, song (from gāyati, he sings).]
For more information on Bhagavadgita, visit Britannica.com.
(Sanskrit, gita, song, Bhagavat, of the blessed one) The poem forming the part of the Indian epic the Mahabharata, composed between the 5th century bc and the 2nd century ad, in which Krishna, as a chariot-eer, explains to Arjuna (‘Everyman’) the nature of human life and its purpose, and the way to achieve the good life.
“The Blessed Lord's Song,” the Bhagavadgītā, was composed about two thousand years ago and is generally considered to be the most beautiful religious writing in India. Since it is part of the epic the Mahābhārata (see Mahābhārata), the Gītā is technically smṛti (see
Bibliography
See F. Edgerton, The Bhagavad Gita (1944); E. Deutsch, ed., Bhagavad Gita (1968); B. S. Miller, The Bhagavad Gita (1986).
Of the large number of holy books revered within Hindu culture, the Bhagavad Gita, a short work originally written in Sanskrit, is by far the most popular. An epic poem, it lays out a path of mystical devotion to Krishna, one of the primary deities in the Hindu pantheon, and describes the Hindu perspective on such essential teachings as reincarnation and karma. It was one of the first books translated by Western scholars as they began to study Eastern teachings in the eighteenth century, and it was widely circulated among dissident religious groups such as the Transcendentalists of New England.
The Gita was written over a period of years between the fifth and second centuries B.C.E. At a later date, it was inserted into the larger Mahabharata, the great epic volume of Indian history and lore. The Mahabharata tells the story of the development of ancient India and the activities of the descendents of Bharata, the mythical character from whom India (or Bharat) takes its name. The story of the Gita is set as a war has broken out between two groups of Bharata's descendents, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, and concerns the problem that Arjuna, the leader of the Pandava army, has in participating in that war. He turns the problem he has been contemplating over to Krishna. Is it worth ruling a kingdom, to kill so many kinsmen?
Krishna responds by calling Arjuna to attend to his role in life as a member of the warrior caste, and not turn his back on his social duty (dharma). Duty should be followed without regard of results. More importantly, however, he offers an understanding of the human being. The human is not a body, but the eternal Atman (analogous to the soul in Western thought), and the Atman is indestructible. The Atman cannot die and it is reborn in this life a number of times. Just as humans change clothes, so the Atman changes bodies. Krishna goes on to out-line the process of yoga and meditation through which a person can come to know the real amid the illusionary world of human life. His teaching culminates in a mystical moment in which Arjuna sees the vast universe lodged as a body within the God of gods.
In the relationship of Arjuna and Krishna, the Gita offers a model of the relationship between chela (pupil) and guru (teacher), so essential to Eastern culture, a structure that has been brought to the West in great force, and now without controversy, during the twentieth century. That structure has focused the question of the necessity of a guru in training a seeker in appropriating mystical states of consciousness.
Numerous translations of the Gita exist in English (and other Western languages), the different translations reflecting the variant understandings of the deity as personal or impersonal in Hindu thought. In the Western work, the Vedanta Societies offer an impersonalist interpretation of the deity while the International Society of Krishna Consciousness is a major exponent of the personalist approach.
Sources:
The Bhagavad Gita. Translated by Juan Mascaró. New York: Penguin Classics, 1962.
Oragan, Troy Wilson. Hinduism: Its Historical Development. Woodbury, Conn.: Barons' Educational Series, 1974.
Prabhupada, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. Bhagavad Gita As It Is. New York: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 1972 (frequently reprinted).
Quotes:
"Neither in this world nor elsewhere is there any happiness in store for him who always doubts."
"On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear."
"When the senses contact sense objects, a person experiences cold or heat, pleasure or pain. These experiences are fleeting they come and go. Bear them patiently."
"Governing sense, mind and intellect, intent on liberation, free from desire, fear and anger, the sage is forever free."
"Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart -- a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water -- I accept with joy."
"That one I love who is incapable of ill will, and returns love for hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mind, and of pain and pleasure, full of mercy, contented, self-controlled, with all his heart and all his mind given to Me -- with such a one I am in love."
See more famous quotes by
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (Sanskrit भगवद् गीता Bhagavad Gītā, "Song of God") is a Sanskrit text from the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata epic. Due to differences in recensions they may be numbered in the full text of the Mahabharata as chapters 6.25 – 42.[1] or as chapters 6.23-40[2] According to the recension of the Gita commented on by Shankaracharya, the number of verses is 700, but there is evidence to show that some old manuscripts had 745 verses.[3]
Krishna, as the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita, is referred to within as Bhagavan[4] (the divine one), and the verses themselves, using the range and style of Sanskrit meter (chandas) with similes and metaphors, are written in a poetic form that is traditionally chanted; hence the title, which translates to "the Song of the Divine One". The Bhagavad Gita is revered as sacred by the majority of Hindu traditions,[5] and especially so by followers of Krishna. It is commonly referred to as The Gita.[6]
The content of the text is a conversation between Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield of Kurukshetra just prior to the start of a climactic war. Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and Prince and elaborates on a number of different Yogic[7] and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and also as a practical, self-contained guide to life. During the discourse, Krishna reveals his identity as the Supreme Being Himself (Bhagavan), blessing Arjuna with an awe-inspiring glimpse of His divine absolute form.
The Bhagavad Gita is also called Gītopaniṣad as well as Yogupaniṣad, implying its status as an 'Upanishad'.[8] Since it is drawn from the Mahabharata, it is a Smṛti text, however referring to it as an Upanishad is intended to give it status comparable to that of śruti, or revealed knowledge.[9]
The discourse on the Bhagavad Gita begins before the start of the climactic battle at Kurukshetra. It begins with the Pandava prince Arjuna, as he becomes filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realising that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, Krishna, for advice.
In summary the main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or truths:[10]
Krishna counsels Arjuna on the greater idea of dharma, or universal harmony and duty. He begins with the tenet that the soul is eternal and immortal.[11] Any 'death' on the battlefield would involve only the shedding of the body, but the soul is permanent. Arjuna's hesitation stems from a lack of right understanding of the 'nature of things,' the privileging of the unreal over the real. His fear and reticence become impediments to the proper balancing of the universal dharmic order. Essentially, Arjuna wishes to abandon the battle, to abstain from action; Krishna warns, however, that without action, the cosmos would fall out of order and truth would be obscured.
In order to clarify his point, Krishna expounds the various Yoga processes, and understanding of the true nature of the universe. Krishna describes the yogic paths of devotional service,[12] action,[13] meditation[14] and knowledge.[15] Fundamentally, the Bhagavad Gita proposes that true enlightenment comes from growing beyond identification with the temporal ego, the 'False Self', the ephemeral world, so that one identifies with the truth of the immortal self, the soul or Atman. Through detachment from the material sense of ego, the Yogi, or follower of a particular path of Yoga, is able to transcend his/her illusory mortality and attachment to the material world and enter the realm of the Supreme.[16]
It should be noted, however, that Krishna does not propose that the physical world must be forgotten or neglected. Indeed, it is quite the opposite: one's life on earth must be lived in accordance with greater laws and truths, one must embrace one's temporal duties whilst remaining mindful of a more timeless reality, acting for the sake of action without consideration for the results therof. Such a life would naturally lead towards stability, happiness and, ultimately, enlightenment.
To demonstrate his divine nature, Krishna grants Arjuna the boon of cosmic vision (albeit temporary) and allows the prince to see his 'Universal Form' (this occurs in the eleventh chapter).[17] He reveals that he is fundamentally both the ultimate essence of Being in the universe, and also its material body, called the Vishvarupa ('World Form').
In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna refers to the war about to take place as 'Dharma Yuddha', meaning a righteous war for the purpose of justice. In Chapter 4, Krishna states that he incarnates in each age (yuga) to establish righteousness in the world.[18]
The date of composition of the text of the Bhagavad Gita is not known with certainty. Some scholars give a broad range of possible dates, as in this analysis by R. C. Zaehner:
As with almost every major religious text in India no firm date can be assigned to the Gītā. It seems certain, however, that it was written later than the 'classical' Upanishads with the possible exception of the Maitrī and that it is post-Buddhistic. One would probably not be going far wrong if one dated it at some time between the fifth and the second centuries B. C.[19]
Based on the differences in the poetic styles and supposed external influences such as Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, some scholars have suggested that the Bhagavad Gita was added to the Mahabharata at a later date.[20][21] Eknath Easwaran supports the theory of late interpolation and believes that the first chapter, which gives a brief summary of the characters and setting, was intended to serve as a bridge between the epic material and chapters two through eighteen of the Gita which focus on philosophical material.[22] The interpolation theory is supported by Robert N. Minor, who writes that:
"The Bhagavadgita was written about 150 B.C. by a devotee of another Indian deity, Krishna, whose popularity would spread throughout India. It was meant to be included in the Mahabharata by a Krishna bhakta, in order to show that devotion to Krishna was the key to an understanding of the Vedic religion."[23]
A traditional religious dating for the events of the Mahabharata War according to the chronology established in Gupta times by Aryabhata on grounds of archaeoastronomical calculations places the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad-Gita) in the late 4th millennium BC (3138 BC[24] or 3102 BC[25]). Historian A. L. Basham comments on the difference between traditional dates and modern scholarly estimates:
According to the most popular later tradition the Mahābhārata War took place in 3102 B.C., which in the light of all evidence, is quite impossible. More reasonable is another tradition, placing it in the 15th century B.C., but this is also several centuries too early in the light of our archaeological knowledge. Probably the war took place around the beginning of the 9th century B.C.; such a date seems to fit well with the scanty archaeological remains of the period, and there is some evidence in the Brāmaṇa literature itself to show that it cannot have been much earlier.[26]
Swami Vivekananda dismisses concerns about differences of opinion regarding the historical events as unimportant for study of the text of the Gita:
One thing should be especially remembered here, that there is no connection between these historical researches and our real aim, which the knowledge that leads to the acquirement of Dharma. Even if the historicity of the whole thing is proved to be absolutely false today, it will not in the least be any loss to us.[27]
The Gita consists of eighteen chapters in total:
| Part of a series on Hindu scriptures |
|
 |
|
| Vedas | |
|---|---|
| Rigveda · Yajurveda | |
| Samaveda · Atharvaveda | |
| Vedic divisions | |
| Samhita · Brahmana | |
| Aranyaka · Upanishad | |
| Upanishad | |
| Aitareya · Brihadaranyaka | |
| Isha · Taittiriya · Chandogya | |
| Kena · Mundaka | |
| Mandukya · Prashna | |
| Shvetashvatara | |
| Vedanga | |
| Shiksha · Chandas | |
| Vyakarana · Nirukta | |
| Jyotisha · Kalpa | |
| Mahakavaya(Epics) | |
| Mahabharata · Ramayana | |
| Other scriptures | |
| Smriti · Śruti | |
| Bhagavad Gita · Purana | |
| Agama · Darshana | |
| Pancharatra · Tantra | |
| Sutra · Stotra ·Dharmashastra | |
| Divya Prabandha | |
| Tevaram · Akhilathirattu | |
| Ramacharitamanas | |
| Shikshapatri · Vachanamrut | |
| Bibliography | |
The Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a detached outlook. The term Yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified outlook, serenity of mind, skill in action and the ability to stay attuned to the glory of the Self (Atman) and the Supreme Being (Bhagavan). According to Krishna, the root of all suffering and discord is the agitation of the mind caused by selfish desire. The only way to douse the flame of desire is by simultaneously stilling the mind through self-discipline and engaging oneself in a higher form of activity.
However, abstinence from action is regarded as being just as detrimental as extreme indulgence. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the goal of life is to free the mind and intellect from their complexities and to focus them on the glory of the Self by dedicating one's actions to the divine. This goal can be achieved through the Yogas of meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. In the sixth chapter, Krishna describes the best Yogi as one who constantly meditates upon him[28] - which is understood to mean thinking of either Krishna personally, or the supreme Brahman - with different schools of Hindu thought giving varying points of view.
Krishna summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters. There are many types of yoga mentioned, but three in particular have been emphasized by commentors:
While each path differs, their fundamental goal is the same - to realize Brahman (the Divine Essence) as being the ultimate truth upon which our material universe rests, that the body is temporal, and that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga's aim (moksha) is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation through realization of the ultimate reality. There are three stages to self-realization enunciated from the Bhagavad Gita:
1. Brahman - The impersonal universal energy
2. Paramatma - The Supreme Soul sitting in the heart of every living entity.
3. Bhagavan - God as a personality, with a transcendental form.
The influential commentator Madhusudana Sarasvati (b. circa 1490) divided the Gita's eighteen chapters into three sections, each of six chapters. According to his method of division the first six chapters deal with Karma Yoga, which is the means to the final goal, and the last six deal with the goal itself, which he says is Knowledge (Jnana). The middle six deal with bhakti.[29] Swami Gambhiranda characterizes Madhusudana Sarasvati's system as a successive approach in which Karma yoga leads to Bhakti yoga, which in turn leads to Jnana yoga.[30] This system has been adopted by some later commentators and rejected by others.
Karma Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one's duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results - a sort of constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain. In a more modern interpretation, it can be viewed as duty bound deeds done without letting the nature of the result affecting ones actions. It is said that the results can be of 3 types - as aimed for, opposite of what is aimed for, or a mixture of these. If one can perform his duties (as prescribed in the Vedas) without any anticipation of the result of his actions, he is bound to succeed. It includes, but is not limited to, dedication of one's chosen profession and its perfection to God. It is also visible in community and social service, since they are inherently done without thought of personal gain.
Krishna advocates 'Nishkam Karma Yoga' (the Yoga of Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without expectations, motives, or thinking about its outcomes tends to purify one's mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the value of reason and the benefits of renouncing the work itself. These concepts are vividly described in the following verses:
In order to achieve true liberation, it is important to control all mental desires and tendencies to enjoy sense pleasures. The following verses illustrate this:[33]
According to Catherine Cornille, Associate Professor of Theology at Boston College, "The text [of the Gita] offers a survey of the different possible disciplines for attaining liberation through knowledge (jnana), ritual action (karma), and loving devotion to God (bhakti), focusing on the latter as both the easiest and the highest path to salvation."[34]
In the introduction to Chapter Seven of the Gita, bhakti is summed up as a mode of worship which consists of unceasing and loving remembrance of God. As M. R. Sampatkumaran explains in his overview of Ramanuja's commentary on the Gita, "The point is that mere knowledge of the scriptures cannot lead to final release. Devotion, meditation, and worship are essential."[35]
As Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita:
Jnana Yoga is a process of learning to discriminate between what is real and what is not, what is eternal and what is not. Through a steady advancement in realization of the distinction between Real and the Unreal, the Eternal and the Temporal, one develops into a Jnana Yogi. This is essentially a path of knowledge and discrimination in regards to the difference between the immortal soul (atman) and the body.
In the second chapter, Krishna’s counsel begins with a succinct exposition of Jnana Yoga. Krishna argues that there is no reason to lament for those who are about to be killed in battle, because never was there a time when they were not, nor will there be a time when they will cease to be. Krishna explains that the self (atman) of all these warriors is indestructible. Fire cannot burn it, water cannot wet it, and wind cannot dry it. It is this Self that passes from body to another body like a person taking worn out clothing and putting on new ones. Krishna’s counsel is intended to alleviate the anxiety that Arjuna feels seeing a battle between two great armies about to commence. However, Arjuna is not an intellectual. He is a warrior, a man of action, for whom the path of action, Karma Yoga, is more appropriate.
In many Sanskrit editions of the Gita, the Sanskrit text includes a traditional chapter title naming each chapter as a particular form of yoga. These chapter titles do not appear in the Sanskrit text of the Mahabharata.[44] Since there are eighteen chapters, there are therefore eighteen yogas mentioned, as explained in this quotation from Swami Chidbhavananda:
All the eighteen chapters in the Gita are designated, each as a type of yoga. The function of the yoga is to train the body and the mind.... The first chapter in the Gita is designated as system of yoga. It is called Arjuna Vishada Yogam - Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection.[45]
In Sanskrit editions, these eighteen chapter titles all use the word yoga, but in English translations the word yoga may not appear. For example, the Sanskrit title of Chapter 1 as given in Swami Sivananda's bilingual edition is arjunaviṣādayogaḥ which he translates as "The Yoga of the Despondency of Arjuna".[46] Swami Tapasyananda's bilingual edition gives the same Sanskrit title, but translates it as "Arjuna's Spiritual Conversion Through Sorrow".[47] The English-only translation by Radhakrishnan gives no Sanskrit, but the chapter title is translated as "The Hesitation and Despondency of Arjuna".[48] Other English translations, such as that by Zaehner, omit these chapter titles entirely.[49]
Swami Sivananda's commentary says that the eighteen chapters have a progressive order to their teachings, by which Krishna "pushed Arjuna up the ladder of Yoga from one rung to another."[50] As Winthrop Sargeant explains,
In the model presented by the Bhagavad Gītā, every aspect of life is in fact a way of salvation.[51]
Dhyana Yoga is the stilling of the mind and body through meditating techniques, geared at realizing one's true nature. A very similar (if not identical) practice was later described by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras.
To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay kusa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and should be situated in a sacred place. The yogi should then sit on it very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart by controlling his mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point. One should hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated, subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate goal of life. Thus practicing constant control of the body, mind and activities, the mystic transcendentalist, his mind regulated, attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Krishna] by cessation of material existence.[52]
Note: Alternative versions of the above verse state that the top of the nose (between the eyebrows) should be meditated upon, rather than the tip.[53]
In many ways seemingly a heterogeneous text, the Gita reconciles many facets and schools of Hindu philosophy, including those of Brahmanical (i.e., orthodox Vedic) origin and the parallel ascetic and Yogic traditions. It comprises primarily Vedic (as in the four Vedas, as opposed to the Upanishads/Vedanta), Upanishadic, Sankhya and Yogic philosophies. For its religious depth, quintessential Upanishadic and Yogic philosophy and beauty of verse, the Bhagavad Gita is one of the most compelling and important texts of the Hindu tradition. It is considered by many as one of the world's greatest religious and spiritual scriptures.
It had always been a creative text for Hindu priests and Yogis. Although it is not strictly part of the 'canon' of Vedic writings, almost all Hindu traditions draw upon the Gita as authoritative. Some claim that it may have been inserted into the Mahabharata at a later date, but this is only natural as it sounds more like an Upanishad (which are commentaries that followed the Vedas) in thought than a Purana (histories), of which tradition the Mahabharata is a part.
For the Vedantic schools of Hindu philosophy, it belongs to one of the three foundational texts (Sanskrit: Prasthana Trayi, literally three points of departure)( the other two being the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras).
Among the great sages and philosophers who have drawn inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita is Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who initiated the public singing of the "Hare Krishna" mantra.
J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and director of the Manhattan Project, learned Sanskrit in 1933 and read the Bhagavad Gita in the original, citing it later as one of the most influential books to shape his philosophy of life. Upon witnessing the world's first nuclear test in 1945, he quoted "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds" based on verse 32 from Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.[54]
A 2006 report suggests that the Gita is replacing the influence of the "The Art of War" (ascendant in the 1980s and '90s) in the Western business community. [4]
Traditionally the commentators belong to spiritual traditions or schools (sampradaya) and Guru lineages (parampara), which claim to preserve teaching stemming either directly from Krishna himself or from other sources, each claiming to be most faithful to the original message.[citation needed]
Different translators and commentators have widely differing views on what multi-layered Sanskrit words and passages signify, and their presentation in English depending on the sampradaya they are affiliated to. Especially in Western philology, interpretations of particular passages often do not agree with traditional views.
The oldest and most influential medieval commentary was that of the founder of the Vedanta school[55] of extreme 'non-dualism", Shankara (788-820 A. D.),[56] also known as Shankaracharya (Sanskrit: Śaṅkarācārya).[57] Shankara's commentary was based on a recension of the Gita containing 700 verses, and that recension has been widely adopted by others.[58] There is not universal agreement that he was the actual author of the commentary on the Bhagavad Gita that is attributed to him.[59] A key commentary for the "modified non-dualist" school of Vedanta[60] was written by Ramanuja (Sanskrit: Rāmānuja), who lived in the eleventh century A.D.[61][62] Ramanuja's commentary chiefly seeks to show that the discipline of devotion to God (Bhakti yoga) is the way of salvation.[63] The commentary by Madhva, whose dates are given either as (b. 1199 - d. 1276)[64] or as (b. 1238 - d. 1317),[65] also known as Madhvacharya (Sanskrit: Madhvācārya), exemplifies thinking of the "dualist" school.[66] Madhva's school of dualism asserts that there is, in a quotation provided by Winthrop Sargeant, "an eternal and complete distinction between the Supreme, the many souls, and matter and its divisions."[67] Madhva is also considered to be one of the great commentators reflecting the viewpoint of the Vedanta school.[68]
In the Shaiva tradition,[69] the renowned philosopher Abhinavagupta (10-11th century CE) has written a commentary on a slightly variant recension called Gitartha-Samgraha.
Other classical commentators include Anandagiri, Shridhara Swami, Nimbarka, Vallabha and Dnyaneshwar.[citation needed]
In modern times notable commentaries were written by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, who used the text to help inspire the Indian independence movement.[70][71] Tilak wrote his commentary while in jail during the period 1910-1911, while he was serving a six-year sentence imposed by the British colonial government in India for sedition.[72] While noting that the Gita teaches several possible paths to liberation, his commentary places most emphasis on Karma yoga.[73] No book was more central to Gandhi's life and thought than the Bhagavadgita, which he referred to as his "spiritual dictionary".[74] During his stay in Yeravda jail in 1929,[75] Gandhi wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad Gita in Gujarati. The Gujarati manuscript was translated into English by Mahadev Desai, who provided an additional introduction and commentary. It was published with a Foreword by Gandhi in 1946.[76][77] Mahatma Gandhi expressed his love for the Gita in these words:
I find a solace in the Bhagavagītā that I miss even in the Sermon on the Mount. When disappointment stares me in the face and all alone I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavagītā. I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies - and my life has been full of external tragedies - and if they have left no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teaching of Bhagavagītā.[78]
Other notable modern commentators include Sri Aurobindo, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and Swami Vivekananda, who took a syncretistic approach to the text.[79][80]
Swami Vivekananda, the follower of Sri Ramakrishna, was known for his commentaries on the four Yogas - Bhakti, Jnana, Karma and Raja Yoga. He drew from his knowledge of the Gita to expound on these Yogas. Swami Sivananda advises the aspiring Yogi to read verses from the Bhagavad Gita every day. Paramahamsa Yogananda, writer of the famous Autobiography of a Yogi, viewed the Bhagavad Gita as one of the world's most divine scriptures. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, wrote a commentary on the Gita from the perspective of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
Numerous readings and adaptations of the Bhagavad Gita have been published in many languages.
In 1785 Charles Wilkins published an English translation of the Bhagavad Gita, which was the first time a Sanskrit book had been translated directly into a European language.[81] In 1808 passages from the Gita were part of the first direct translation of Sanskrit into German, appearing in a book through which Friedrich Schlegel became known as the founder of Indian philology in Germany.[82] The Gita has been translated into many other languages.
