The Living Gita

The Bhagavad Gita tells the story of how Arjuna, the great warrior, is seated in his chariot about to engage in battle, when he sees his own kinsmen and his revered teacher arrayed in battle against him, and feels that he cannot fight. It is then that Krishna, the Cosmic Lord, comes to counsel him. Arjuna represents the human soul seated in the chariot of the body and Krishna is the inner Spirit, the God within, who is there to counsel him. Today we see humanity divided against itself and threatened with nuclear war and mutual destruction. No political means are adequate to deal with this problem, and many are driven to despair. It is then that the message of the Gita comes to teach us that it is only when we rise above human schemes and calculations and awake to the presence of the indwelling Spirit that we can hope to find the answer to our need.

From the foreword by Sri P. Jayaraman, PhD (Bharatiya Bhavan, USA)

Swami Satchidananda, with a life ripe in experience, gives a real commentary to the Gita. It is the calm and collected mind, far from the maddening materialism, that can enjoy the essence of the Gita to its fullest form. Sri Swamiji is the one of the authorities or adhikaris who can give us the commentary on the Gita. The Gita has enchanted great Western scholars like Thoreau, who in ecstasy remarked: “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.” 

Such a great work has been taken on by Swami Satchidananda. There is a reason behind it. Whether he is aware of the great quality he possesses or not, all his listeners and readers are very much aware of that quality; that is the simplicity and clarity of his expression. The Bhagavad Gita through his pen finds a lucid expression and meaning very essential for a modern reader. His words reach the very depth of the heart of the reader. What else should the expression need? Rhetoric, rhythm and rhyme are not that essential as the simplicity and sincerity of thought. Sri Swamiji is the foremost in that art. His listeners would certainly agree with this remark of mine. I am honored to write these words in this book of great significance.