The Essential Gita For Everyone-Altruistic Philosophic Activis (A New Abridged Translation)

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The Bhagavad Gita ("Lord's Song") is famous all over the world and has been so for at least two centuries. It is an ancient Indian work written in Sanskrit (the language of the Indo-Aryans) verse.

It tells of the dilemma of Arjuna, a mighty warrior, at the prospect of killing friends and relatives. He becomes despondent before the Kurukshetra battle starts. He is driven in his chariot by Krishna, his kinsman, and a nobleman famous for his sagacity and wisdom. Arjuna asks Krishna what he should do. He repeatedly wails that he does not wish to kill friends and relatives to get a throne. Rather be a beggar. Krishna appeals to his Warrior's Code and urges him to stand up and fight. If he does not fight, others will misunderstand and slander him. They will say that he was afraid, than which there can be no greater slur on a Kshatriya's (Warrior's) honour. He prevails upon Arjuna to stand up and fight. There is a philosophical and metaphysical discussion for over two hours before he can persuade Arjuna to fight. Krishna explains that even if a person dies, his soul does not. It is eternal and immortal. If in pursuance of his duties Arjuna kills people he will be touched by no sin if his action is selfless. Even then if he feels guilty, he should pray to God with concentrated devotion. God will shrive him of all sins.

Krishna refers to himself as God. This is mild in most of the book. In the rest it is passionate.

At the beginning of the Preface we have said what the Bhagavad Gita ("The Lord's Song") is all about. How old is the Gita? Orthodox Hindus consider it to be the words of God Himself. And, therefore, of hoary antiquity.

Modern scholars, Western and Indian, have tried to give it a date. The well-known Professor Radhakrishnan puts it, in its present form, at about the 5th century B.C. It is probable, as some scholars think, that the Gita took its final shape in the Time of Troubles, after the fall of the Maurya Empire, between 1st century B.C. and 1st century A.D. So it is an end-Vedic product, before the Vedic religion transformed itself into the Hindu. They also hold that there was a brief kernel of the Gita, propounded in the field of battle, Kurukshetra, any time between the 15th and 10th century B.C. Then by interpolation, or praksipta methods, not very difficult where everything was oral and esoteric, it grew into its present size, 700-745 shlokas or verses, according to different authorities.

There are many versions (bhashyas) of the Gita and many commentaries on it. The earliest we have is of the great Kerala philosopher, Shankara, about the 8th century A.D. There have been other versions, by Ramanuja, Madhava, Sri Dhara Swami, Vijnan Bhikshu, Keshava Bharati, Brahmananda Giri, and a whole host of others. Sixteen versions of the Gita have been published.

Oroon Kumar Ghosh (b. 22nd August 1917) spent his child-hood in Burma. In 1930 he had two traunatic experiences there, where he narrowly escaped death. One was an earthquake, the other Indo-burmese riots. Civil servant under the Government of India, 1952-53, United Nations Fellow in Canada and USA, 1954-55, toured over 100 places in India with the States Reorganisation Commission. 1960-64 with the Indian High Commission in London. Participated in the Tagore Centenary celebrations in London in 1961.

Author of 12 books. Two books in Bengali include one on Tagore. Amongst English books, Tales from the Indian Classics, the Dance of Shiva and other tales from India, How India won freedom, The Changing Indian Civilization, 2 vols, Convergence of Civilizations, Science, Society and Philosophy, and World Religions: a comparative analysis.