An ancient conversation for a modern audience — anyone who has ever asked “What is the purpose of life?” or “Who am I?” will find answers in this book. The ancient Gita is a world text dealing with the mysteries of life. It has been around thousands of years, but remains little known outside India. At its heart is a conversation between the soul and God.
This edition of the Gita is distinguished by its easy accessibility. Ranchor Prime’s section-by-section commentary opens the text to the spiritual seeker. He never loses sight of the audience for his book, and that he wants his readers to understand the Gita in a personal way.
This is a wonderful Gita for those unfamiliar with the spiritual culture arising from India, or for someone searching for answers to their existential questions, but not prepared to wade through a larger Gita. It is great for a class, or book club, and has been used in book clubs in universities and communities with great success.
Reader Reviews
“Prime began this translation as a way of sharing the Gita with his own children, and his commentary exudes a fatherly and caring spirit.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“Ranchor Prime opens the text to the spiritual seeker. He never loses sight of the audience for his book, and that he wants his readers to understand the Gita in a personal way.” —OM Magazine, UK
“Prime began this translation as a way of sharing the Gita with his own children, and his commentary exudes a fatherly and caring spirit.’ Publishers Weekly ‘This translation of the Gita brings this vital Hindu text alive for Western audiences. It may be the best English edition of the Gita for enticing customers to take a dip into a dazzling river of divine knowledge.” —New Age Retailer
“…I urge anyone who is even remotely interested in becoming familiar with the Bhagavad-gita to read this book. He, a Krishna conscious devotee of long standing, elected to pare-down the text by deleting the Sanskrit while remaining faithful to the essential spiritual/philosophical messages held within the original sacred Sanskrit verses. This work brings a refreshing and non-threatening sense of Vedic scripture to 21st Century readers of all ages. And, advanced devotees will find new discussions points and enriched meaning/s in the Bhagavad-gita by acquainting themselves with this contemporary work; plus, it makes a super nice gift!” —Alice (Amazon review)
‘Every University of Virginia student should have to read this Gita as required reading.’
—Assistant Dean Sandra Seidel (at the Bhakti book club, UVA)
“This Bhagavad-Gita’s flow of philosophy and the connections between the verses, and the logic are uniquely brilliant. Bhagavad-Gita is meant for the enlightenment of humanity and remains vital today. In the West, the Gita has had profound influence on philosophy and literature and has been studied by virtually all of the major thinkers.
“For more than a decade, I, as a seeker of truth, have been sincerely searching for an easily accessible Bhagavad-Gita translation which also faithfully retains the original message of the Gita without speculation/vagueness.
“After extensive comparative studies of numerous translations, I found out that this book is a definitive translation:
- It’s easy-to-read as well as faithful to the original spirit of the Gita
- The verses have been arranged into small logical sets and given thematic topics which I find it very helpful
- The presentation is brilliant, engaging and universal in its appeal
- This is not from an arm-chair philosopher. The author is a practitioner which means he’s put his heart and soul into this work.”
—S. Kumar (Amazon Review)
