The Living Gita: The Complete Bhagavad Gita - A Commentary for Modern Readers

This translation of the Bhagavid Gita is my favorite, as Swami Satchidananda's explanations and examples spoke directly to me. I understood all of what he said, and found that I could relate everything he said to something I'd experienced myself. If you really want to understand what the Gita is all about, then this is the translation you need!

A supremely readable commentary for the modern reader. Strictly speaking, this is Yoga rather than Advaita but that really does not matter - it is full of clearly expressed wisdom. If you want to discover the essential message of the Gita and its relevance to modern life (and enjoy the reading experience too) this is definitely the book you should get. Dennis Waite, author of Back to the Truth: 5000 years of Advaita

The Gita can be read very easily without much understanding. This translation and commentary is relatively easy to understand. Its lessons can be incorporated into daily life. It is also reassuring that the interpretation is coming from a swami. Swami Satchidananda uses simple examples from life to clarify even the most obscure sentences in this text. BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE A SEEKER!

Sri Swami Satchidananda has brought to life the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita for the modern seeker. The Bhagavad Gita is the beautiful and famous lessons on life that Krishna gave Arjuna on the battle field. The Gita starts with the great war on the battle field Kurukshetra between two families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Arjuna belonging to the Pandavas must fight to up hold righteousness against the evil Kauravas. But on seeing the Kauravas on the battlefield and realizing that he knows many of them as teacher, friend and kin, Arjuna finds that he cannot go in to battle. Krishna observing Arjunas inner conflict gives Arjuna lessons on the reality of life. Reading the story we see that the battlefield is not the Kurukshetra but our own body. The evil Kauravas our learned habits formed by ego and its manifestations. The Pandavas our pure qualities of love, non-violence, peace and truth. Arjuna is our inner being having conflict with our actions and expressions and Krishna the Lord every loving in his guidance.The Bhagavad Gita is truely a great scripture with much truth contained with in its lessons. However as a modern society we often struggle to assimilate spiritual teachings in to our present expression of life. Some find it hard to relate to our present life and a lesson that happened thousands of years ago. Here is where Sri Swami Satchidananda has gifted us with a modern commentary on the Bhagavad Gita that relates to our modern mind and environment. To capture the beauty of this book is to express the teachings through action in our every day. life. I brought this book for my brother who showed an interest in my love of Vedic teachings. I brought him this commentary and read some of it before I sent it to him. I liked Sri Swami Satchidananda's commentary so much that I went and brought another copy for myself. Full of truth and so easy to relate too!

I have explored several versions of the Bhagavad Gita with commentaries, among them, that by William Q. Judge and the one provided by Paramahansa Yogananda. Previous to reading The Living Gita, I have been confused and haven't understood the ideas expressed. Sri Swami Satchidananda presents the text in easy-to-understand English, and offers concrete examples drawn from our everyday life to support his version and the commentaries he makes. The superficial story is of opposing armies on the battlefield, but the underlying meaning relates more to our everyday fight with our more selfish instincts, and how we can rise above our natural self-centered inclinations. I appreciate the insights that Swami Satchidananda gives us in our daily struggle to be better human beings.