The Bhagavad Gita on Management by M.P. Bhattathiri

[Guest guest]

Article by M.P. Bhattathiri, Retired Chief Technical Examiner , to The Govt.

of Kerala. Table of Contents

 

Abstract Introduction

Management guidelines from the Bhagavad-Gita Gita

Old truths in a new context

The source of the problem

Utilisation of available resources

Work commitment

Motivation – self and self-transcendence

Work culture

Work results

Manager's mental health

Management needs those who practice what they preach

In conclusion

A note on the word "yoga".

 

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 philosophical and management lessons in the true form in this

holy book were brought in to light of the world by divine Sri. Srila

Prabhupada Swami 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. He preached and

educated the people and his followers are 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 counseling to do his duty while multitudes of men

stood by waiting. Arjuna face the problem of onflict between emotions

and intellect . In almost all of the cases, emotions win. Only a very

few people have a conflict-free emotion and intellect. Emotions, are

required, for, without them, one is a mere robot. They make life

pleasant as long as they are sensible and within limits. 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 unfoldment 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. 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.

"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.

M.P.Bhattathiri.

 

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 Chaitanya 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 manifolds."

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 aesceticism 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 seperate 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 processess; philosophy attempts at their

explaination.----- 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 annd 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

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