Srimad Bhagavad Gita : A New Translation

Since the first translation of the Gita by Charles Wilkins in 1785, there have been several excellent translations, perhaps more than two hundred in English - by Indians, the British, and the Americans, let alone the translations in other Asian and European languages. When there are already so many, why translate yet again? Every translator has to face this question and justify his labour. Immortal classics like the Bhagavad Gita never date, but their translations do. The original is evergreen and has a permanent appeal. Every generation finds its own meaning in it. Every generation has its own thought patterns, its own lingo, its view of the world, and its own distinct culture. The meaning it derives from the Gita is a typical cultural construct of its own time. The colonial paradigms which were true at the time of Wilkins are not true for us who live in independent India. Every classic has two aspects: the contemporary and the eternal. The contemporary aspect changes with time but the eternal aspect is changeless. So is in the case of the Gita. Its core message is the same for all times and places. Life was relatively simple at the time it was first translated even up to the first decade of the twentieth century - the world was not torn by global wars; never was humanity so shocked out of complacency. But the later developments changed the course of human history and with it man's world view. The twentieth century saw a steady attenuation of moral values. Familiar boundaries were collapsed. Life, Literature and philosophy underwent dramatic changes under altered pressures. Darwinism had already reduced man to an ape and the Freudian theory of the unconscious brought about a relative irrationality and irresponsibility in human behavior. The holiest relationship between mother and son and father and daughter came under scanner after the invention of Oedipus complex and Electra Complex. The Marxian definition of man as a product of Economic necessity completed the destruction of the metaphysical image of man. The developments in science and technology shifted man's focus from spirituality to science. The big-bang theory made God an unnecessary addendum. The proponents of negative philosophies like Existentialism and Absurdism preferred an atheistic position and declared that man lives in a Godless universe thereby completely severing man from his metaphysical roots. Now in the twenty first century, we live in a digitally bewildered world with a psyche loaded with shocks and traumas, and are lost in the cyberspace. To recover sanity and direction the study of Bhagavad Gita is absolutely necessary. It is obvious that not many have the time nor the linguistic equipment to study the Gita in original Sanskrit. But one good sign is that the younger people of this generation, after reaching the crescendo of their madness, are slowly coming round and down seeking solace in spirituality. Most of them are well-versed in English. Such eye-opening, and ennobling scriptures like the Gita must be made accessible to them in the most contemporary and comprehensible diction. My translation is only a humble attempt in that direction. I have tried to make it as simple as possible (without compromising It's dignity and profundity) so that even the uninitiated can access it and comprehend.

• | Author: N. S. R. Ayengar
• | Publisher: Independently Published
• | Publication Date: Jan 02, 2017
• | Number of Pages: 172 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1796679275
• | ISBN-13: 9781796679274