Preface
Is it possible in the modern world to live a life of peace and joy, free from tension, anxiety, fear and frustration? Yes! the Bhagavad Gītā illumines that possibility.
In this volume, the transliteration of the original text is followed by its literal translation (which is Gurudev Sivananda’s own). Then follow a few thoughts offered at your feet. This is not a commentary on the Bhagavad Gītā, but it can serve as a supplement to the standard commentaries! It is meant as a spiritual stimulant, to help you understand the scripture better.
The best way to use it is to study a page a day, and then meditate on the verses themselves. By the grace of God and guru, you will receive more light from within, and greater, and ever greater, understanding of the spiritual truth revealed in the scripture.
This is the sole object with which this labour of love is offered at the feet of the Lord present in your heart.
Here is the story of the Mahābhārata, in brief:
Two brothers, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who was born blind, and Pāṇḍu, who was born anaemic (white), had a hundred wicked sons and five pious sons respectively. The wicked sons of the former were keen to ‘take over’ their cousins’ share of the kingdom and tried all means, fair and foul, to achieve their ambition. God’s grace, however, rescued the sons of Pāṇḍu from peril after peril.
The wicked hundred contrived to banish the pious five from the kingdom for a period of thirteen years, and when they returned after successfully completing the period of exile, the wicked ones flatly refused to give them their rightful share of the kingdom.
Lord Kṛṣṇa, who was a friend of the pious five, made a last-minute attempt to avert the armed conflict which, however, became inevitable.
The impartial lord Kṛṣṇa offered to help both the parties: they could choose either himself or his vast army. The wicked hundred chose the army, and the pious five were happy that they could have God incarnate on their side. Kṛṣṇa served as the charioteer of Arjuna, one of the pious five.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind king, was complacent that his sons’ superior might, the numerical superiority of their army and the presence on their side of Bhīṣma of unparalleled valour – who could not be slain against his own will – would ensure their victory. However, on the tenth day of the battle, Bhīṣma fell. The blind king’s faith was shaken and he called upon his intuitive minister, Saṅjaya, to narrate the events of the war to him.
Now read on…
