Bhagavad Gita In 365 Days

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About the Book

Bhagavad Gita in 365 Days is the extracted essence of the dialogue between the bewildered Arjuna and the Sagacious Lord Krishna. The format is intelligent and user-friendly. Lata Jagtiani has condensed the Gita verses without sacrificing their philosophical essence. The pure, undiluted wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita in 365 days requires a read of only a minute a day-time that even the busiest amongst us can spare for a life of peace.

Readers of both sexes and all faiths, above the age of thirteen can drink from this well of wisdom. The handy pocket size is ideals for travelers with laptops or handbags. It is sure to be an invaluable friend, guide and philosopher for today's busy, time-conscious individual in need of answers.

About the Author

Lata Jagtiani, an English post-graduate, currently lecturers at the Bombay College of Journalism. She has been published by various newspapers and journals, including The Times of India which carried her articles under the Speaking Tree. She is also the author of the spiritual book, Towards Light, and the short story fiction, Temple Bells and Other Stories. She lives in Mumbai.

I am humbled to learn that the first edition of the "Bhagavad Gita in 365 Days" has been sold out. This second edition comes out on the back of the tremendous appreciation that I have received from people across the world for the simple wisdom of the Gita.

It heartens me that it has touched so many lives everywhere. There is an effort to ensure copies of this "Bhagavad Gita in 365 Days" find their place in American libraries; I was overwhelmed to receive an email from a lady entrepreneur in Columbia who has, after reading the Gita, made a special puja-roorn in her apartment there so she may keep this Gita in it. A senior employee at the United Nations shared with me that when he was posted in trouble-ridden Baghdad, he used to begin his day by reading from this Gita and ending it the same way. So many businessmen, professionals such as doctors and even housewives find answers to their lives' troubles when they delve into this simplified Gita. A Mumbai lawyer, after reading it, has ensured that even her casual acquaintances receive this gift from her; another bank executive told me that she begins her extremely busy day with a reading from the Gita. I was even more touched when the General Manager of "The Times of India," extremely delighted with the simple and profound Gita of 365 days, volunteered to formally launch the Gita in the Times of India premises in Mumbai. Shree Anup Jalota rendered bhajans and released the book formally. All I can say is that Krishna's flute plays, spreading its magic in our lives, helping us through life's challenges. I do hope the second edition of "Bhagavad Gita in 365 Days" touches your heart and guides your steps towards a life of joy and peace.

As a child when I first heard the Gita's shlokas recited with depth and power by Swami Chinmayananda I sensed that that the Gita's message was the key to a life of joy and peace. Swamiji, in his characteristic impish style, interspersed the wisdom of the Gita with witty jokes. He succeeded in transforming the formidable Gita into a friend who winked and bantered with me as he gently nudged me away from the darkness of confusion, apathy, fear, and ignorance. Lord Krishna's firm yet caring guidance fell on my ears and I was never the same again. My best friend had arrived. The journey inwards had begun.

Through the years I read various Gita translations, attended several discourses, met spiritual sages and gained insights into the mysterious Gita. Sometimes I was speechless: the answers were there in black and white and yet, we groped around in futility. When I praised the Gita, I learnt that my friends had not read the Gita because of one of three reasons. They found the philosophical content too esoteric and were put off by its apparent complexity (in Bombay parlance, it was "high funda"); then some found it too time consuming because of its length (seven hundred verses); finally, they thought it was not presented in simple, understandable English. fu a lecturer of English and Creative Writing, I have heard the same objection raised against Shakespeare. While I appreciated the validity of these objections, I also wondered what I could do about them. The well of wisdom had nectar in it, there were people thirsting for this nectar, and the only thing that was missing was a bucket without holes. And then suddenly one day, I saw in a flash, the kind of bucket they were seeking, and how I could bring it to them.

When I commuted from my home to the college by train I saw that when the train made an unscheduled stop between stations for a few minutes, while many commuters grumbled about the delay some commuters began to read from a pocket 365-day Bible. I made up my mind to get myself a 365-day Gita. My search drew a blank. There just was no 365-day Gita in all of Mumbai!

The die was cast.
At the very least, I sense that my task was a formidable uphill climb. I resolved to stay positive while staying focused one step at a time up the steep mountain.

"It is infinitely better to do one's own duty, however deficiently one does it, than to do another's duty, however perfectly one performs it. Even if it were to require one's giving up one's very life for it, it is better to do one's own duty. To do another's duty is d angerous.”

I t took me nine years of research and plodding forward a step at a time to create this friendly, simple, easy-to-understand English Bhagavad Gita in an easy- to-carry size. Once we have an easy-to-carry Gita which is also easy to understand, easy to gift, easy to afford and easy to travel within a laptop bag or ladies handbag, we may find so many of our problems beginning to fade away and disappear. The Gita is not merely a self- help book one finds on the shelves of bookshops these days, the Gita is that powerful blaze of light that dispels the darkness of confusion and sorrow.

"Bhagavad Gita in 365 Days" is an attempt to offer you the Gita in your language, in today's terms, in as simple a language as it is possible. Anybody over twelve years of age, curious to understand life and his own role in it, wondering about happiness and how it can be found, can read the Gita and find that it helps enhance the quality of his life. Wisdom pours from the Gita in page after page, Lord Krishna's flute plays a simple melody to which we return again and again, because it is the nectar that we have been thirsting for all these years.