The Bhagavad-gita
is universally renowned as the jewel of India's spiritual
wisdom. Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead to His intimate disciple Arjuna, the Gita's
seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide
to the science of self realization. No other philosophical
or religious work reveals, in such a lucid and profound
way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe
and the Supreme.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is
uniquely qualified to present this English translation
and commentary on Bhagavad-gita. He is the world's foremost
Vedic scholar and teacher, and he is also the current
representative of an unbroken chain of fully self-realized
spiritual masters begining with Lord Krishna Himself.
Thus, unlike other editions of the Gita, this one is presented
as it is--without the slightest taint of adulteration
or personal motivation. This edition is certain to stimulate
and enlighten with its ancient yet thoroughly timely message.
Preface
Originally
I wrote Bhagavad-gita As It Is in the form in which it is
presented now. When this book was first published, the original
manuscript was, unfortunately, cut short to less than 400
pages, without illustrations and without explanations for
most of the original verses of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita. In
all of my other books--Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Isopanisad,
etc.--the system is that I give the original verse, its English
transliteration, word-for-word Sanskrit-English equivalents,
translations and purports. This makes the book very authentic
and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident. I was not
very happy, therefore, when I had to minimize my original
manuscript. But later on, when the demand for Bhagavad-gita
As It Is considerably increased, I was requested by many scholars
and devotees to present the book in its original form, and
Messrs. Macmillan and Co. agreed to publish the complete edition.
Thus the present attempt is to offer the original manuscript
of this great book of knowledge with full parampara explanation
in order to establish the Krsna consciousness movement more
soundly and progressively.
Our Krsna consciousness movement is genuine, historically
authorized, natural and transcendental due to its being based
on Bhagavad-gita As It Is. It is gradually becoming the most
popular movement in the entire world, especially amongst the
younger generation. It is becoming more and more interesting
to the older generation also. Older gentlemen are becoming
interested, so much so that the fathers and grandfathers of
my disciples are encouraging us by becoming life members of
our great society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
In Los Angeles many fathers and mothers used to come to see
me to express their feelings of gratitude for my leading the
Krsna consciousness movement throughout the entire world.
Some of them said that it is greatly fortunate for the Americans
that I have started the Krsna consciousness movement in America.
But actually the original father of this movement is Lord
Krsna Himself, since it was started a very long time ago but
is coming down to human society by disciplic succession. If
I have any credit in this connection, it does not belong to
me personally, but it is due to my eternal spiritual master,
His Divine Grace Om Visnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya
108 Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja
Prabhupada.
If personally I have any credit in this matter, it is only
that I have tried to present Bhagavad-gita as it is, without
adulteration. Before my presentation of Bhagavad-gita As It
Is, almost all the English editions of Bhagavad-gita were
introduced to fulfill someone's personal ambition. But our
attempt, in presenting Bhagavad-gita As It Is, is to present
the mission of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna.
Our business is to present the will of Krsna, not that of
any mundane speculator like the politician, philosopher or
scientist, for they have very little knowledge of Krsna, despite
all their other knowledge. When Krsna says, man-mana bhava
mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru, etc., we, unlike the so-called
scholars, do not say that Krsna and His inner spirit are different.
Krsna is absolute, and there is no difference between Krsna's
name, Krsna's form, Krsna's qualities, Krsna's pastimes, etc.
This absolute position of Krsna is difficult to understand
for any person who is not a devotee of Krsna in the parampara
(disciplic succession). Generally the so-called scholars,
politicians, philosophers, and svamis, without perfect knowledge
of Krsna, try to banish or kill Krsna when writing commentary
on Bhagavad-gita. Such unauthorized commentary upon Bhagavad-gita
is known as Mayavadi-bhasya, and Lord Caitanya has warned
us about these unauthorized men. Lord Caitanya clearly says
that anyone who tries to understand Bhagavad-gita from the
Mayavadi point of view will commit a great blunder. The result
of such a blunder will be that the misguided student of Bhagavad-gita
will certainly be bewildered on the path of spiritual guidance
and will not be able to go back to home, back to Godhead.
Our only purpose is to present this Bhagavad-gita As It Is
in order to guide the conditioned student to the same purpose
for which Krsna descends to this planet once in a day of Brahma,
or every 8,600,000,000 years. This purpose is stated in Bhagavad-gita,
and we have to accept it as it is; otherwise there is no point
in trying to understand the Bhagavad-gita and its speaker,
Lord Krsna. Lord Krsna first spoke Bhagavad-gita to the sun-god
some hundreds of millions of years ago. We have to accept
this fact and thus understand the historical significance
of Bhagavad-gita, without misinterpretation, on the authority
of Krsna. To interpret Bhagavad-gita without any reference
to the will of Krsna is the greatest offense. In order to
save oneself from this offense, one has to understand the
Lord as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He was directly
understood by Arjuna, Lord Krsna's first disciple. Such understanding
of Bhagavad-gita is really profitable and authorized for the
welfare of human society in fulfilling the mission of life.
The Krsna consciousness movement is essential in human society,
for it offers the highest perfection of life. How this is
so is explained fully in the Bhagavad-gita. Unfortunately,
mundane wranglers have taken advantage of Bhagavad-gita to
push forward their demonic propensities and mislead people
regarding right understanding of the simple principles of
life. Everyone should know how God or Krsna, is great, and
everyone should know the factual position of the living entities.
Everyone should know that a living entity is eternally a servant
and that unless one serves Krsna one has to serve illusion
in different varieties of the three modes of material nature,
and thus perpetually one has to wander within the cycle of
birth and death; even the so-called liberated Mayavadi speculator
has to undergo this process. This knowledge constitutes a
great science, and each and every living being has to hear
it for his own interest.
People in general, especially in this Age of Kali, are enamored
by the external energy of Krsna, and they wrongly think that
by advancement of material comforts every man will be happy.
They have no knowledge that the material or external nature
is very strong, for everyone is strongly bound by the stringent
laws of material nature. A living entity is happily the part
and parcel of the Lord, and thus his natural function is to
render immediate service to the Lord. By the spell of illusion
one tries to be happy by serving his personal sense gratification
in different forms which will never make him happy. Instead
of satisfying his own personal material senses, he has to
satisfy the senses of the Lord. That is the highest perfection
of life. The Lord wants this, and He demands it. One has to
understand this central point of Bhagavad-gita. Our Krsna
consciousness movement is teaching the whole world this central
point, and because we are not polluting the theme of Bhagavad-gita
As It Is, anyone seriously interested in deriving benefit
by studying the Bhagavad-gita must take help from the Krsna
consciousness movement for practical understanding of Bhagavad-gita
under the direct guidance of the Lord. We hope, therefore,
that people will derive the greatest benefit by studying Bhagavad-gita
As It Is as we have presented it here, and if even one man
becomes a pure devotee of the Lord, we shall consider our
attempt a success.
