After reading several versions of the Bhagavad Gita, I found this one to be the most accessible -- especially listening to it on an audio cassette. I sensed that I really understood the message as the original author intended for the first time. Needleman is a masterful reader, and this contributes to the enjoyment and teaching of this work. I find the wisdom presented here to have had a profound effect on my learning as a human being seeking my spiritual self.

Very well read by Mr. Needleman. I'm listening to it now for the second time. Barbara Stoler-Miller's translation works for me: she translated everything. People's names were not changed, but there are no untranslated Indian words to puzzle the listener. The Dover Publications book, e.g., has some Indian words left untranslated so I sometimes don't know what is being "said". That's why I put down the Dover book and got this tape and am very happy with it. The Bhagavad Gita is very interesting and very thoughtful. I've been interested ever since I saw the Mahabarata (spelling?) presented on PBS. The Bhagavad Gita is a part of that larger story.

This is a very condensed translation of the fundamental theological handbook for those who want to devote themselves to the austerities of the study of the details of the metaphysics of meditation on God (which transcend any particular religion). From the precision of the translation I can see that Dr. Barbara Miller had been studying this work for long time before she wrote this book. She has left out the details of the tranlations of the Sanskrit words. Of course, she would have had to a assume a fundmental knowledge of the Sanskrit language and its alphabet for this(Mr. Houston at the American Sanskrit Institute has published some very useful tapes and workbooks for this). Also, she leaves out translations of most of the very enlightening comments of the Hindu sage Vyasa (these are available in English in the book by Swami Hariharananda and also the book which she references in the Harvard Oriental series by Dr. Houghton Woods). Nevertheless, by giving us a concise translation of these important scriptures which are faithful to the original Sanskrit she has done good. Thank you Dr. Miller for your scholarly work in this area.

The *Yoga Sutras* is an ancient Indian text attributed to the sage Patanjali. They discuss "yoga" in the deep spiritual sense-- not the physical exercises of Hatha Yoga, but the essential techniques of stilling the mind and achieving spiritual illumination. The objective, almost scientific, treatment of *Yoga Sutras* presents the reader with an anatomy of consciousness itself, as well as an atlas of the highest human possibilities. Prof. Miller's translations make this esoteric text readily available to the modern reader. Her translation is lucid and easy to read, without sacrificing any of the wisdom or precision of the text itself. I would recommend this book to any one who takes seriously the idea of spiritual work and the goal of spiritual transformation.

Professor Miller's is not one of the better translations of the Gita. We can see this immediately by her choice of subtitle, "Krishna's Counsel in Time of War," which works against the real significance of what Krishna is saying and misses the profound message of the Gita entirely. If the Gita were only advice about how to act during war, it could hardly have even a minuscule part of the world-wide and timeless significance that it has. Regardless of how literally one may want to read the Gita, it is an unmistakable truth that Krishna's counsel is not about war, per se, but about how to live life, and how to face death.

We can also see in her introduction and in the "key words" section following the text that her understanding of the Gita is mostly academic. She has not practiced (at least not to any great extent) any of the yogas central to the Gita. It cannot be emphasized enough that a true understanding of the Bhagavad Gita requires not only study but practice in one or more of the four yogas presented by Krishna, namely bhakti yoga, karma yoga, jnana yoga or raja yoga.

To illustrate some of the problems in the text, let's look at the beginning of Chapter Five as an example. Miller calls this, "The Fifth Teaching: Renunciation of Action," which is not exactly right since what is renounced are the fruits of action, not action itself, which according to the Gita, is impossible to renounce. We always act; even in inaction we are acting. Just "Renunciation" would be a better title for the chapter. Miller uses the word "Simpletons" in the fourth verse as the converse of "the learned"; but this is just poor diction. The intent of the Sanskrit is "unlearned" or "immature." Swami Nikhilananda, in his translation (1944; 6th printing, 1979), even uses the word "children." The natural word is "fools" which Miller avoids for no clear reason.

In the next verse, Miller has: "Men of discipline reach the same place/that philosophers attain;/he really sees who sees philosophy/and discipline to be one." She certainly has the spirit of the meaning correct, but "Men of discipline" is not only needlessly vague, it is misleading since discipline alone does not work at all, which is one of Krishna's main points. While hers is a literal translation of the Sanskrit "yogair," a more meaningful translation would be "Men of yoga." R. C. Zaehner, who translated the Gita for the Oxford University Press (1969), uses "men of practice" although that too is not entirely agreeable. Eknath Easwaran (1985; 2000), who really knows yoga, has Krishna simply say, "The goal of knowledge and the goal of service are the same; those who fail to see this are blind." Easwaran can deviate from a strict literal translation because he really understands the purport of the Gita. Swami Prabhupada, whose translation serves the further didactic purpose of promoting "Krishna consciousness," is also a man who has a deep understanding of the Gita. He puts it this way: "One who knows that the position reached by means of renunciation can also be attained by devotional service, and who therefore sees that sankhya and yoga are on the same level, sees things as they are."

Another disagreeable choice made by Miller is the epithet, "Lord of Discipline" that she has Arjuna use in addressing Krishna in 10.17. This unhappy phrasing comes about because of Miller's reluctance to use the proper and natural word "yoga." Easwaran has "supreme master of yoga," while Nikhilananda has simply, "O, Yogi...O, Lord." Prabhupada has "You...O Blessed Lord," and Zaehner tries to explain with "athlete of the spirit...You, Blessed Lord." Stephen Mitchell's recent translation (2000) has the eminently sensible, "Lord of Yoga."

I think Miller was overly influenced by the very literal and also largely academic translation by Franklin Edgerton from 1944, a translation admired in academic circles since it was the one included in the prestigious Harvard Oriental Series, but a translation neither poetic nor especially insightful. It is difficult to make strictly literal translations true to the spirit of the Gita because the Gita is poetic and is profound in a way not immediately apparent. Miller worked hard at a literal rendition of the text, but she also sought to make it contemporary for a particular (young) American generation. Ainslee Embree, Professor of History at Columbia University, is quoted on the cover as saying, "Miller's is the translation for her generation." Unfortunately, it is not clear that Embree meant that entirely as a compliment!

Having said all this, Miller's is a sincere effort, and captures most of what the Gita is about. No reasonable translation of this great spiritual work is in vain.

This book is a classic text of the Hindu culture. Very readable and easy to digest, this book provides a lot of sound teachings. Being a Christian, I am often amazed at the vast amount of parallelisms that exist between the various religions and find myself less condemning and a result less offensive, which leads to more opportunities to discuss my beliefs. With that said, I recommend that more people need to be able to understand other cultures and beliefs before attempting to persuade others to adopt their teachings, whatever they may be. This book is great ground zero reading into the psyche of the Hindu culture, as well as a good instructor in many areas where we have questions.

Despite the literary criticisms made by some other reviewers, the fact is that the main messages of this age-old text still come through clearly in this modern translation. The introduction is excellent, and its engaging style is probably easier for first-time readers to swallow versus other academic translations. For the book's small price and size, it's a great investment and, as a piece of world literature, has to rank among the greatest ever produced.

While I think most religions of the world are fundamentally the same if you explore them yourself, from a documentation perspective, Eastern texts seem to go further than many Western texts in trying to explore and understand the nature of, and the relationship among, reality, God and ourselves. It seems you don't have to travel someplace far to finally understand it, or at least understand it better; the knowledge is in the here and now. Like Krishna's friend Arjuna, you have to become aware and accept it. And the first step in doing that is opening a book like this.

This is one of those works that may be taken out of context, due to a misunderstanding of tattva(principle or truth) and of siddhanta(conclusions). In the mind of a mundane reader, it may appear to be something like "erotic" poetry, like the gross, mundane activities between an ordinary man and woman. Therefore it is essential when reading this work that one has some understanding of the ontological position of Radha and Krishna. For this end, it is a necessity that one studies the work of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, specifically Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita. These works are given in parampara(disciplic succession)coming directly from Sri Krishna Himself. Therefore they are very authoritative in understanding the complex intricacies and knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His diverse energies. If one does not have a philosophical understanding of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and has not removed all material contamination from the heart, such as lust, greed, envy, anger, illusion, madness and even subtle desires for profit, adoration and distinction, then reading the "Gita-Govinda" will be nothing short of disasterous. This is because one will mis-understand the loving exchages between Radha and Krishna to be something like mundane sex life. This is a most offensive and improper mentality. "Gita-Govinda" is not mere poetry, like that of some conditioned soul. It is written for liberated souls to relish. Therefore we should be very cautious when approaching this divine and sacred work.