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By: M.P.Bhattathiri
May 02, 2007
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The author is: Retired Chief Technical Examiner, Govt. of Kerala
Abstract
One of the greatest contributions of India to the world is Holy Gita which
is considered to be one of the first revelations from God. The management
lessons in this holy book were brought in to light of the world by divine
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi , Sri Sri RaviShankar and Swami Bodhanandji, and the
spiritual philosophy by the great Adi Sankaracharya the greatest
philosopher of India and proud son of Kerala, and Sri. Srila Prabhupada
Swami and humanism by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Satya Sai Baba.
Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a
complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is needed to raise
the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals
the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations
of everyone. Swami Chinmayanandaji preached and educated the people and
Swami Sandeep Chaitanyaji continuing the mission by keeping this lantern
burning always knowing the wishes of the modern generations. Arjuna got
mentally depressed when he saw his relatives with whom he has to fight.(
Mental health has become a major international public health concern now).
To motivate him the Bhagavad Gita is preached in the battle field
Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna as a counseling to do his duty while
multitudes of men stood by waiting. It has got all the management tactics
to achieve the mental equilibrium and to overcome any crisis situation.
The Bhagavad Gita can be experienced as a powerful catalyst for
transformation. Bhagavad gita means song of the Spirit, song of the Lord.
The Holy Gita has become a secret driving force behind the enfoldment of
one's life. In the days of doubt this divine book will support all
spiritual searches. This divine book will contribute to self reflection,
finer feeling and deepen one's inner process. Then life in the world can
become a real education—dynamic, full and joyful—no matter what the
circumstance. May the wisdom of loving consciousness ever guide us on our
journey? What makes the Holy Gita a practical psychology of transformation
is that it offers us the tools to connect with our deepest intangible
essence and we must learn to participate in the battle of life with right
knowledge?. It shows us the path to handle the situation with equipoise
mind irrespective of what comes our way and reminds us time and again,
that what the right action is.
The Holy Gita is the essence of the Vedas, Upanishads. It is a universal
scripture applicable to people of all temperaments and for all times. It
is a book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions on Yoga,
Devotion, Vedanta and Action. It is profound in thought and sublime in
heights of vision. It brings peace and solace to souls that are afflicted
by the three fires of mortal existence, namely, afflictions caused by
one's own body (disease etc), those caused by beings around one (e.g. wild
animals, snakes etc.), and those caused by the gods (natural disasters,
earth-quakes, floods etc).
Mind can be one's friend or enemy. Mind is the cause for both bondage and
liberation. The word mind is derived from man to think and the word man
derived from manu (sanskrit word for man).
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O Arjuna, and is
directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a
machine, made of the material energy."
There is no theory to be internalized and applied in this psychology.
Ancient practices spontaneously induce what each person needs as the
individual and the universal coincide. The work proceeds through
intellectual knowledge of the playing field (jnana yoga), emotional
devotion to the ideal (bhakti yoga) and right action that includes both
feeling and knowledge karma yoga). With ongoing purification we approach
wisdom. The Bhagavad Gita is a message addressed to each and every human
individual to help him or her to solve the vexing problem of overcoming
the present and progressing towards a bright future. Within its eighteen
chapters is revealed a human drama. This is the experience of everyone in
this world, the drama of the ascent of man from a state of utter
dejection, sorrow and total breakdown and hopelessness to a state of
perfect understanding, clarity, renewed strength and triumph.
"Freed from attachment, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, and taking refuge
in Me, purified by the penance of knowledge, many have attained union with
My Being." (Gita 4:10)
Mind is very restless, forceful and strong, O Krishna, it is more
difficult to control the mind than to control the wind ~ Arjuna to Sri
Krishna
Introduction
In this modern world the art of Management has become a part and parcel of
everyday life, be it at home, in the office or factory and in Government.
In all organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common
purpose irrespective of caste, creed, and religion, management principles
come into play through the management of resources, finance and planning,
priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of
carrying out activities in any field of human effort. Management need to
focus more on leadership skills, e.g., establishing vision and goals,
communicating the vision and goals, and guiding others to accomplish them.
It also assert that leadership must be more facilitative, participative
and empowering in how visions and goals are established and carried out.
Some people assert that this really isn't a change in the management
functions, rather it's re-emphasizing certain aspects of management.
Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their
weaknesses irrelevant, says the Management Guru Peter Drucker. It creates
harmony in working together - equilibrium in thoughts and actions, goals
and achievements, plans and performance, products and markets. It resolves
situations of scarcity, be they in the physical, technical or human
fields, through maximum utilization with the minimum available processes
to achieve the goal. Lack of management causes disorder, confusion,
wastage, delay, destruction and even depression. Managing men, money and
materials in the best possible way, according to circumstances and
environment, is the most important and essential factor for a successful
management.
Management guidelines from the Bhagavad Gita - There is an important
distinction between effectiveness and efficiency in managing.
Effectiveness is doing the right things. Efficiency is doing things right.
The general principles of effective management can be applied in every
field, the differences being more in application than in principle. The
Manager's functions can be summed up as:
Forming a vision, Planning the strategy to realize the vision ,Cultivating
the art of leadership, Establishing institutional excellence, Building an
innovative organization, Developing human resources, Building teams and
teamwork, Delegation, motivation, and communication ,Reviewing performance
and taking corrective steps when called for.
Thus, management is a process of aligning people and getting them
committed to work for a common goal to the maximum social benefit - in
search of excellence. Major functions of a manager are planning,
organizing, leading and coordinating activities -- they put different
emphasis and suggest different natures of activities in the following four
major functions..
The critical question in all managers" minds is how to be effective in
their job. The answer to this fundamental question is found in the
Bhagavad Gita, which repeatedly proclaims that "you must try to manage
yourself." The reason is that unless a manager reaches a level of
excellence and effectiveness, he or she will be merely a face in the
crowd.
Old truths in a new context
The Bhagavad Gita, written thousands of years ago, enlightens us on all
managerial techniques leading us towards a harmonious and blissful state
of affairs in place of the conflict, tensions, poor productivity, absence
of motivation and so on, common in most of Indian enterprises today – and
probably in enterprises in many other countries.
The modern (Western) management concepts of vision, leadership,
motivation, excellence in work, achieving goals, giving work meaning,
decision making and planning, are all discussed in the Bhagavad Gita.
There is one major difference. While Western management thought too often
deals with problems at material, external and peripheral levels, the
Bhagavad Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level of human
thinking. Once the basic thinking of man is improved, it will
automatically enhance the quality of his actions and their results.
The management philosophy emanating from the West is based on the lure of
materialism and on a perennial thirst for profit, irrespective of the
quality of the means adopted to achieve that goal. This phenomenon has its
source in the abundant wealth of the West and so "management by
materialism" has caught the fancy of all the countries the world over,
India being no exception to this trend. My country, India, has been in the
forefront in importing these ideas mainly because of its centuries old
indoctrination by colonial rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling
that anything Western is good and anything Indian, is inferior. Gita does
not prohibit seeking money, power, comforts, health. It advocates active
pursuit of one's goals without getting attached to the process and the
results.
The result is that, while huge funds have been invested in building
temples of modem management education, no perceptible changes are visible
in the improvement of the general quality of life - although the standards
of living of a few has gone up. The same old struggles in almost all
sectors of the economy, criminalization of institutions, social violence,
exploitation and other vices are seen deep in the body politic.
The source of the problem
The reasons for this sorry state of affairs are not far to seek. The
Western idea of management centers on making the worker (and the manager)
more efficient and more productive. Companies offer workers more to work
more, produce more, sell more and to stick to the organization without
looking for alternatives. The sole aim of extracting better and more work
from the worker is to improve the bottom-line of the enterprise. The
worker has become a hirable commodity, which can be used, replaced and
discarded at will.
Thus, workers have been reduced to the state of a mercantile product. In
such a state, it should come as no surprise to us that workers start using
strikes (gheraos) sit-ins, (dharnas) go-slows, work-to-rule etc. to get
maximum benefit for themselves from the organizations. Society-at-large is
damaged. Thus we reach a situation in which management and workers become
separate and contradictory entities with conflicting interests. There is
no common goal or understanding. This, predictably, leads to suspicion,
friction, disillusion and mistrust, with managers and workers at cross
purposes. The absence of human values and erosion of human touch in the
organizational structure has resulted in a crisis of confidence.
Western management philosophy may have created prosperity – for some
people some of the time at least - but it has failed in the aim of
ensuring betterment of individual life and social welfare. It has remained
by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty for a few in the
midst of poor quality of life for many.
Hence, there is an urgent need to re-examine prevailing management
disciplines - their objectives, scope and content. Management should be
redefined to underline the development of the worker as a person, as a
human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With this changed perspective,
management can become an instrument in the process of social, and indeed
national, development.
Now let us re-examine some of the modern management concepts in the light
of the Bhagavad Gita which is a primer of management-by-values.
Utilization of available resources
The first lesson of management science is to choose wisely and utilize
scarce resources optimally. During the curtain raiser before the
Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri Krishna's large army for his help
while Arjuna selected Sri Krishna's wisdom for his support. This episode
gives us a clue as to the nature of the effective manager - the former
chose numbers, the latter, wisdom.
Work commitment
A popular verse of the Gita advises "detachment" from the fruits or
results of actions performed in the course of one's duty. Being dedicated
work has to mean "working for the sake of work, generating excellence for
its own sake." If we are always calculating the date of promotion or the
rate of commission before putting in our efforts, then such work is not
detached. It is not "generating excellence for its own sake" but working
only for the extrinsic reward that may (or may not) result.
Working only with an eye to the anticipated benefits, means that the
quality of performance of the current job or duty suffers - through mental
agitation of anxiety for the future. In fact, the way the world works
means that events do not always respond positively to our calculations and
hence expected fruits may not always be forthcoming. So, the Gita tells us
not to mortgage present commitment to an uncertain future.
Some people might argue that not seeking the business result of work and
actions, makes one unaccountable. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita is full of
advice on the theory of cause and effect, making the doer responsible for
the consequences of his deeds. While advising detachment from the avarice
of selfish gains in discharging one's accepted duty, the Gita does not
absolve anybody of the consequences arising from discharge of his or her
responsibilities. Attachment to perishable gives birth to fear, anger,
greed, desire, feeling of "mine" and many other negative qualities.
Renounce attachment by regarding objects for others and for serving
others. Depend only on God (not body, nor intellect), and the dependency
on the world will end. Renouncing attachment is the penance of knowledge,
which leads to His Being - Truth, Consciousness and Bliss. ( Bhagavad
Gita-4.10)
Thus the best means of effective performance management is the work
itself. Attaining this state of mind (called "nishkama karma") is the
right attitude to work because it prevents the ego, the mind, from
dissipation of attention through speculation on future gains or losses.
Motivation – self and self-transcendence
It has been presumed for many years that satisfying lower order needs of
workers - adequate food, clothing and shelter, etc. are key factors in
motivation. However, it is a common experience that the dissatisfaction of
the clerk and of the Director is identical - only their scales and
composition vary. It should be true that once the lower-order needs are
more than satisfied, the Director should have little problem in optimizing
his contribution to the organization and society. But more often than not,
it does not happen like that. ("The eagle soars high but keeps its eyes
firmly fixed on the dead animal below.") On the contrary, a lowly paid
schoolteacher, or a self-employed artisan, may well demonstrate higher
levels of self-actualization despite poorer satisfaction of their
lower-order needs.
This situation is explained by the theory of self-transcendence propounded
in the Gita. Self-transcendence involves renouncing egoism, putting others
before oneself, emphasizing team work, dignity, co-operation, harmony and
trust – and, indeed potentially sacrificing lower needs for higher goals,
the opposite of Maslow.
"Work must be done with detachment." It is the ego that spoils work and
the ego is the centerpiece of most theories of motivation. We need not
merely a theory of motivation but a theory of inspiration.
The Great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941, known as "Gurudev")
says working for love is freedom in action. A concept which is described
as "disinterested work" in the Gita where Sri Krishna says,
"He who shares the wealth generated only after serving the people, through
work done as a sacrifice for them, is freed from all sins. On the contrary
those who earn wealth only for themselves, eat sins that lead to
frustration and failure."
Disinterested work finds expression in devotion, surrender and equipoise.
The former two are psychological while the third is determination to keep
the mind free of the dualistic (usually taken to mean "materialistic")
pulls of daily experiences. Detached involvement in work is the key to
mental equanimity or the state of "nirdwanda." This attitude leads to a
stage where the worker begins to feel the presence of the Supreme
Intelligence guiding the embodied individual intelligence. Such
de-personified intelligence is best suited for those who sincerely believe
in the supremacy of organizational goals as compared to narrow personal
success and achievement.
Work culture
An effective work culture is about vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit
of given or chosen tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of work
culture – "daivi sampat" or divine work culture and "asuri sampat" or
demonic work culture.
Daivi work culture - involves fearlessness, purity, self-control,
sacrifice, straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence of
fault-finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of envy and
pride. Asuri work culture - involves egoism, delusion, personal desires,
improper performance, work not oriented towards service. Mere work ethic
is not enough. The hardened criminal exhibits an excellent work ethic.
What is needed is a work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel, "yogah karmasu kausalam" should be
understood. "Kausalam" means skill or technique of work which is an
indispensable component of a work ethic. " Yogah" is defined in the Gita
itself as "samatvam yogah uchyate" meaning an unchanging equipoise of mind
(detachment.) Tilak tells us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920, the precursor of Gandhiji, hailed by the
people of India as "Lokmanya," probably the most learned among the
country"s political leaders. For a description of the meanings of the word
"Yoga", see foot of this page.)
By making the equable mind the bed-rock of all actions, the Gita evolved
the goal of unification of work ethic with ethics in work, for without
ethical process no mind can attain an equipoise. The guru, Adi Sankara
(born circa 800 AD), says that the skill necessary in the performance of
one's duty is that of maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success
and failure. The calm mind in the face of failure will lead to deeper
introspection and see clearly where the process went wrong so that
corrective steps could be taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our attachment to personal gains from the work
done is the Gita's prescription for attaining equanimity. It has been held
that this principle leads to lack of incentive for effort, striking at the
very root of work ethic. To the contrary, concentration on the task for
its own sake leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to the
true mental happiness of the worker. Thus, while commonplace theories of
motivation may be said to lead us to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the
Gita's principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental, and indeed
moral, satisfaction.
Work results
The Gita further explains the theory of "detachment" from the extrinsic
rewards of work in saying: If the result of sincere effort is a success,
the entire credit should not be appropriated by the doer alone. If the
result of sincere effort is a failure, then too the entire blame does not
accrue to the doer. The former attitude mollifies arrogance and conceit
while the latter prevents excessive despondency, de-motivation and
self-pity. Thus both these dispositions safeguard the doer against
psychological vulnerability, the cause of the modem managers" companions
of diabetes, high blood pressure and ulcers.
Assimilation of the ideas of the Gita leads us to the wider spectrum of "lokasamgraha"
(general welfare) but there is also another dimension to the work ethic -
if the "karmayoga" (service) is blended with "bhaktiyoga" (devotion), then
the work itself becomes worship, a "sevayoga" (service for its own sake.)
Along with bhakti yoga as a means of liberation, the Gita espouses the
doctrine of nishkamya karma or pure action untainted by hankering after
the fruits resulting from that action. Modern scientists have now
understood the intuitive wisdom of that action in a new light.
Scientists at the US National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda,
found that laboratory monkeys that started out as procrastinators, became
efficient workers after they received brain injections that suppressed a
gene linked to their ability to anticipate a reward. The scientists
reported that the work ethic of rhesus macaques wasn't all that different
from that of many people: "If the reward is not immediate, you
procrastinate", Dr Richmond told LA Times.
(This may sound a peculiarly religious idea but it has a wider
application. It could be taken to mean doing something because it is
worthwhile, to serve others, to make the world a better place – ed.)
Manager's mental health
Sound mental health is the very goal of any human activity - more so
management. Sound mental health is that state of mind which can maintain a
calm, positive poise, or regain it when unsettled, in the midst of all the
external vagaries of work life and social existence. Internal constancy
and peace are the pre-requisites for a healthy stress-free mind. At the
initial stages when engaging in a relationship, the mind may wander and go
to different places. But we must have a clear aim, a clear focus, a single
pointed direction. Thereafter the mind will not wander in different
places. The mind will remain on only one.
Some of the impediments to sound mental health are: Greed - for power,
position, prestige and money. Envy - regarding others" achievements,
success, rewards. Egotism - about one's own accomplishments. Suspicion,
anger and frustration. Anguish through comparisons.
The driving forces in today's businesses are speed and competition. There
is a distinct danger that these forces cause erosion of the moral fiber,
that in seeking the end, one permits oneself immoral means - tax evasion,
illegitimate financial holdings, being "economical with the truth",
deliberate oversight in the audit, too-clever financial reporting and so
on. This phenomenon may be called as "yayati syndrome".
In the book, the Mahabharata, we come across a king by the name of Yayati
who, in order to revel in the endless enjoyment of flesh exchanged his old
age with the youth of his obliging youngest son for a thousand years.
However, he found the pursuit of sensual enjoyments ultimately
unsatisfying and came back to his son pleading him to take back his youth.
This "yayati syndrome" shows the conflict between externally directed
acquisitions (extrinsic motivation) and inner value and conscience
(intrinsic motivation.)
Our mind is like a Computer, continuously programmed since our childhood
along with some vasanas from our previous birth. This programming is both
good and bad for ourselves, a healthier programming makes us a productive
and happy individual, while a bad program may turn us into a unproductive.
If we choose to surrender our Mind, Ego and operate from that realm, it is
like asking a person to live with his brain defunct!! It will be a futile
exercise. Mental peace can be achieved by effective delegation. Delegation
is when supervisors give responsibility and authority to subordinates to
complete a task, and let the subordinates figure out how the task can be
accomplished. Effective delegation develops people who are ultimately more
fulfilled and productive. Managers become more fulfilled and productive
themselves as they learn to count on their staffs and are freed up to
attend to more strategic issues.
Delegation is often very difficult for new supervisors, particularly if
they have had to scramble to start the organization or start a major new
product or service themselves. Many managers want to remain comfortable,
making the same decisions they have always made. They believe they can do
a better job themselves. They don't want to risk losing any of their power
and stature (ironically, they do lose these if they don't learn to
delegate effectively). Often, they don't want to risk giving authority to
subordinates in case they fail and impair the organization.
This is one reason why such an exercise of surrendering mind, ego etc
fails in the real world. Man is a biological machine, and he cannot
operate without those necessary components of his software.
Management needs those who practice what they preach
"Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the commoners follow," says Sri
Krishna in the Gita. The visionary leader must be a missionary, extremely
practical, intensively dynamic and capable of translating dreams into
reality. This dynamism and strength of a true leader flows from an
inspired and spontaneous motivation to help others. "I am the strength of
those who are devoid of personal desire and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the
legitimate desire in those, who are not opposed to righteousness," says
Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita.
In conclusion
The despondency of Arjuna in the first chapter of the Gita is typically
human. Sri Krishna, by sheer power of his inspiring words, changes
Arjuna"s mind from a state of inertia to one of righteous action, from the
state of what the French philosophers call "anomie" or even alienation, to
a state of self-confidence in the ultimate victory of "dharma" (ethical
action.)
When Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready to fight, Sri Krishna
reminded him of the purpose of his new-found spirit of intense action -
not for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and desire, but
for the good of many, with faith in the ultimate victory of ethics over
unethical actions and of truth over untruth.
Sri Krishna"s advice with regard to temporary failures is, "No doer of
good ever ends in misery." Every action should produce results. Good
action produces good results and evil begets nothing but evil. Therefore,
always act well and be rewarded.
My purport is not to suggest discarding of the Western model of
efficiency, dynamism and striving for excellence but to tune these ideals
to India"s holistic attitude of " lokasangraha" - for the welfare of many,
for the good of many. There is indeed a moral dimension to business life.
What we do in business is no different, in this regard, to what we do in
our personal lives. The means do not justify the ends. Pursuit of results
for their own sake, is ultimately self-defeating. ("Profit," said
Matsushita-san in another tradition, "is the reward of correct behavior."
– ed.)
A note on the word "yoga".
Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical
meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two
or more things. The technical meaning is "a state of stability and peace
and the means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad Gita
uses the word with both meanings.
Let us go through what scholars say about Holy Gita.
"No work in all Indian literature is more quoted, because none is better
loved, in the West, than the Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such a work
demands not only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy with the
theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem is a symphony in which God is
seen in all things. . . . The Swami does a real service for students by
investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning. Whatever our outlook
may be, we should all be grateful for the labor that has lead to this
illuminating work." Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor
of Philosophy University of Southern California
"The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for the great religious
civilization of India, the oldest surviving culture in the world. The
present translation and commentary is another manifestation of the
permanent living importance of the Gita." Thomas Merton, Theologian
"I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada"s scholarly
and authoritative edition of Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for
the scholar as well as the layman and is of great utility as a reference
book as well as a textbook. I promptly recommend this edition to my
students. It is a beautifully done book." Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor
of Sanskrit, Princeton University
"As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the author of Bhagavad-gita
As It Is is entitled, according to Indian custom, to the majestic title of
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The great interest
that his reading of the Bhagavad-gita holds for us is that it offers us an
authorized interpretation according to the principles of the Caitanya
tradition." Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology, Sorbonne
University, Paris
"I have had the opportunity of examining several volumes published by the
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and have found them to be of excellent quality
and of great value for use in college classes on Indian religions. This is
particularly true of the BBT edition and translation of the Bhagavad-gita."
Dr. Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion, Columbia University
"If truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists insist, there must
be a kind of truth in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, since those who follow
its teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing in the bleak and
strident lives of contemporary people." Dr. Elwin H. Powell Professor of
Sociology State University of New York, Buffalo
"There is little question that this edition is one of the best books
available on the Gita and devotion. Prabhupada"s translation is an ideal
blend of literal accuracy and religious insight." Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins
Professor of Religion, Franklin and Marshall College
"The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts, is not as yet a
common part of our cultural milieu. This is probably less because it is
alien per se than because we have lacked just the kind of close
interpretative commentary upon it that Swami Bhaktivedanta has here
provided, a commentary written from not only a scholar's but a
practitioner's, a dedicated lifelong devotee's point of view." Denise
Levertov, Poet
"The increasing numbers of Western readers interested in classical Vedic
thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a
new and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has
increased our understanding manyfold." Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department
of South Asian Languages and Civilization University of Chicago
"The scholarly world is again indebted to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita has been translated many times,
Prabhupada adds a translation of singular importance with his commentary."
Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of Religions and Director
of Libraries Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California
"Srila Prabhupada's edition thus fills a sensitive gap in France, where
many hope to become familiar with traditional Indian thought, beyond the
commercial East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since the time Europeans
first penetrated India. "Whether the reader be an adept of Indian
spiritualism or not, a reading of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is will be
extremely profitable. For many this will be the first contact with the
true India, the ancient India, the eternal India." Francois Chenique,
Professor of Religious Sciences Institute of Political Studies, Paris,
France
"It was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large,
serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age
and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which
exercise us" Emerson's reaction to the Gita
"As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much grief
to see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the role of
gurus and spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very excited to see the
publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada. It will help to stop the terrible cheating of false and
unauthorized "gurus" and "yogis" and will give an opportunity to all
people to understand the actual meaning of Oriental culture." Dr. Kailash
Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center for Oriental Studies, The
University of Mexico
"The Gita is one of the clearest and most comprehensive one, of the
summaries and systematic spiritual statements of the perennial philosophy
ever to have been done" Aldous Huxley
"It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and beautifully explained work.
I don"t know whether to praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gita,
its daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility of its ideas. I
have never seen any other work on the Gita with such an important voice
and style. . . . It will occupy a significant place in the intellectual
and ethical life of modern man for a long time to come." Dr. Shaligram
Shukla Professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University
"I can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have found explanations
and answers to questions I had always posed regarding the interpretations
of this sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly admire. If the
asceticism and ideal of the apostles which form the message of the
Bhagavad-gita As It Is were more widespread and more respected, the world
in which we live would be transformed into a better, more fraternal
place." Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire, Catholic University
of Paris
"When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this
universe everything else seems so superfluous." Albert Einstein
"When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I
see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a
verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of
overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy
and new meanings from it every day." Mahatma Gandhi
"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal
philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world
and its literature seem puny and trivial." Henry David Thoreau
"The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by
its devotion to God which is manifested by actions." Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human race a living creation
rather than a book, with a new message for every age and a new meaning for
every civilization." Sri Aurobindo
"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been
current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by
Plato in his Timaeus in which it states "behold we are not an earthly but
a heavenly plant." This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna
expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita." Carl Jung
"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the spiritual foundation of
human existence. It is a call of action to meet the obligations and duties
of life; yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of
the universe." Prime Minister Nehru
"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of
life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion." Herman
Hesse
"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books;
it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large,
serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age
and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which
exercise us." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full
understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it." Rudolph Steiner
"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the goals of human
existence become fulfilled. Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of
all the teachings of the Vedic scriptures." Adi Shankara
"The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution
of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and
comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its
enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity."
Aldous Huxley
"The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to reveal the science of
devotion to God which is the essence of all spiritual knowledge. The
Supreme Lord Krishna's primary purpose for descending and incarnating is
relieve the world of any demoniac and negative, undesirable influences
that are opposed to spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His
incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach of all humanity."
Ramanuja
The Bhagavad-Gita is not separate from the Vaishnava philosophy and the
Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the true import of this doctrine which is
transmigation of the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of
Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to engage in warfare.
When the second chapter has been read it can be clearly understood that
knowledge and the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On studying
the third chapter it is apparent that acts of righteousness are also of
high priority. If we continue and patiently take the time to complete the
Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its closing chapter we can
see that the ultimate conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized
ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender directly unto the
Supreme Lord. Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
"The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and
protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of
the Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the
essence of flowers." Madhvacarya
Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning and a technical
meaning. The general meaning is the joining together or union of any two
or more things. The technical meaning is "a state of stability and peace
and the means or practices which lead to that state." The Bhagavad Gita
uses the word with both meanings. Lord Krishna is real Yogi who can
maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis." Mata Amritanandamayi
Devi.
Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana are but three paths to this end. And common to
all the three is renunciation. Renounce the desires, even of going to
heaven, for every desire related with body and mind creates bondage. Our
focus of action is neither to save the humanity nor to engage in social
reforms, not to seek personal gains, but to realize the indwelling Self
itself. Swami Vivekananda (England, London; 1895-96)
"Science describes the structures and processes; philosophy attempts at
their explanation. When such a perfect combination of both science and
philosophy is sung to perfection that Krishna was, we have in this piece
of work an appeal both to the head and heart. " Swamy Chinmayanand on Gita
I seek that Divine Knowledge by knowing which nothing remains to be
known!" For such a person knowledge and ignorance has only one meaning:
Have you knowledge of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not, you are ignorant.
As said in the Gita, chapter XIII/11, knowledge of Self, observing
everywhere the object of true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is declared to
be true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is ignorance." Sri
Ramakrishna
Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of Vedic Literature and a
complete guide to practical life. It provides "all that is needed to raise
the consciousness of man to the highest possible level." Maharishi reveals
the deep, universal truths of life that speak to the needs and aspirations
of everyone. Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
The Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson for living worldly life with
an eye to Release, Nirvana. My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that
one should not fail to thoroughly understand this ancient science of
worldly life as early as possible in one's life. --- Lokmanya Tilak
I believe that in all the living languages of the world, there is no book
so full of true knowledge, and yet so handy. It teaches self-control,
austerity, non-violence, compassion, obedience to the call of duty for the
sake of duty, and putting up a fight against unrighteousness (Adharma). To
my knowledge, there is no book in the whole range of the world's
literature so high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which is the treasure-house
of Dharma nor only for the Hindus but foe all mankind. --- M. M. Malaviya
Let us go through what scholars say about ancient India
"India was the mother of our race and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's
languages. She was the mother of our philosophy, mother through the Arabs,
of much of our mathematics, mother through Buddha, of the ideals embodied
in Christianity, mother through village communities of self-government and
democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all." Will Durant
"If there is one place on the face of this Earth "where all the dreams of
living men have found a home "from the very earliest days when Man began
the dream of" existence, it is India." Romain Rolland - French Philosopher
1886-1944
It is opposed to their (Hindus) foreign origin, that neither in the Code
(of Manu) nor, I believe, in the Vedas, nor in any book that is certainly
older than the code, is there any allusion to a prior residence or to a
knowledge of more than the name of any country out of India. Even
mythology goes no further than the Himalayan chain, in which is fixed the
habitation of the gods... .To say that it spread from a central point is
an unwarranted assumption, and even to analogy; for, emigration and
civilization have not spread in a circle, but from east to west. Where,
also, could the central point be, from which a language could spread over
India, Greece, and Italy and yet leave Chaldea, Syria and Arabia
untouched? There is no reason whatever for thinking that the Hindus ever
inhabited any country but their present one, and as little for denying
that they may have done so before the earliest trace of their records or
tradition. 1841 M.S. Elphinstone, the first governor of the Bombay
Presidency
M.P.Bhattathiri
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