I spent the afternoon reading parts of Autobiography Of A Yogi, the autobiography of Paramhansa Yogananda. In one of the footnotes, Yogananda mentions that in his opinion Sri Aurobindo's Essays on the Gita is the best translation and commentary on the Bhagavat Gita.
When someone puts their reputation on the line (especially if that someone has the reputation of Yogananda. Think world's tallest building for a comparison.) and says in print that one particular book is the best in its class, how could anyone not run home and start reading? There may be two or three people in southern North Carolina who could hold back, but for the vast majority of people, it's not possible, i'm certain of that. So, after getting back home, and then leaving again, and then getting back home a second time, and then crying for a few minutes about the mp3 player, i found and opened Essays on the Gita.
603 pages! That's what i found. Where, o where, am i going to fit 603 pages into my schedule? I'm not sure how good anyone's math is, but 603 is a LOT more than 100 pages, which you can reasonably squeeze into any schedule.
So, here's the dilemma: Anything by Sri Aurobindo will make you a better person. Any understanding of the Gita, no matter how minute, will make you a better person. Having just finished reading The Gita According To Ghandi last weekend, this is the perfect time to tackle the Essays — no, to take the time to savor them, to baste each page with my eyes, letting the wisdom slowly sink in.
But six hundred and three pages.....
(Wail. Woe. Weeping. Lamenting.)
5 comments:
Don't forget the other 36 volumes of his collected works! Btw, in case you didn't know, you can download them here: http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php
Thanks for the link; i didn't know. I think the other 36 volumes will have to wait until next weekend. ;-)
Lao,
You won't regret spending whatever time it will take going through those 603 pages. It's simply the most fantastic, outstanding, spellbinding commentary on the Gita ever! In fact, it just might be the best thing you have read in a long, long time...
"V"
P.S.: The book picks up slowly, but surely!
The best thing i have read in a long time? That's pretty bold; i read a lot of very, very good books (imho). But OK, OK, i'll make the time. How can i argue with "fantastic," outstanding," and "spellbinding."
Thanks.
Hi, just saw this and have no idea if you're still there (or have spent the last 6 years studying Essays on the Gita:>)))
I thought, in case you hadn't looked at it again, I'd add one more bit of motivation.
Sri Krishna Prem was a British man (born Ronald Nixon) who was something of a science prodigy, then after serving as a fighter pilot in World War I let go of his interest in science, studied English at Cambridge and ultimately became a renunciate in northern India. He was respected all over India as one of the few westerners who truly understood the depths of the Indian spiritual tradition (both Sri Aurobindo and Ramana Maharshi were among his admirers).
he was very close friends with Dilip Kumar Roy, an Indian classical singer who later became a disciple of Sri Aurobindo, and to whom Sri Aurobindo wrote over 4000 letters (many of which are in the collection, "Letters on Yoga.")
The comment that led Dilip to accept Sri Aurobindo as his teacher was from Krishna Prem, who said that Sri Aurobindo's "Essays on the Gita" was the best Gita commentary he ever read (and personally, though Essays is my favorite, and I've read nearly 2 dozen translations and commentaries, Krishna Prem's Gita commentary remains my 2nd favorite, 40 years after first reading it).
Enjoy!!
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