Bhagavad Gita

I do not say that this is the best commentary on the Gita - there are many. But this is the one I would recommend to any beginner. For those who do not know the epic of the Mahabharata - this book has a long chapter where the author tries to give a brief background - a context to understand what is happening here. For a non-Indian trying to understand Gita for the first time - this is what I would recommend. I gave this 5 stars because it does not try to divert your thought process towards what any sect group believe. It only translates the shloka and allows you to think. When you need reference, you can read the commentary (or maybe even ignore the commentary, if you are already a little into the Gita from before). I loved this book so much that I hard-bound it and made a rexine cover to preserve it for long.

A very detailed explanation of the lessons of Bhagwat Gita. Wanted to introduce Gita to my 11 year old son( in English) and this has been a perfect solution. He is reading it everyday and getting lifelong lessons . Recommend it!!

Bhagavad Gita is the most popular of the scriptures of Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism). However, the message is for the whole mankind and not just for the Hindus. It is one of the three canons of Vedanta (the other two are the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras). The Gita discusses the various paths to Self-Realization, known as yogas, systematically. There are dozens of English translations of the Gita. How to choose? The best commentary to Gita is by Adi Sankara, the 7th century saint and non-dual philosopher of India. His commentary takes a non-dual approach, which is the widely accepted vedantic philosophy. There are a few literal translations of Gita with Adi Sankara's commentary. The more recent ones are by Swami Gambhirananda and by Swami Nikhilananda. Gambhirananda's is a literal translation and at times it is very difficult to comprehend. One feels like some explanation of Sankara's commentary is needed. On the other hand, Swami Nikhilananda's approach is to present notes to each verse based on Adi Sankara's commentary which makes it very easy to read and comprehend. He elaborates where an elaboration is needed and has omitted occasional portions of the commentary which are extremely technical and don't interest majority of the readers. This makes it an excellent read and hence I prefer Nikhilananda's version. Also his English is excellent. No wonder, Time Magazine gave a great review for this edition of Gita. A brief summary of the Mahabharata is included, which helps one understand the context in which the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna takes place. Highly recommend this book. After reading this book, those interested in the path of jnana or self-enquiry should read Sri Sadhu Om's 'The Path of Sri Ramana'.

Anyone wanting a self-help book, this is it.

A smooth read, wish it had the Sanskrit