Bhagavad Gita

Fraught with feelings of self-doubt and hopelessness, a great warrior collapses in self-defeat, posing questions for his charioteer, just before the immense battle begins on the plain of Kuruksetra. It is as if there was an interruption of the epic story of the Mahabharata, which pauses dramatically for the dialogue between the teacher, Sri Krishna, and his disciple, Arjuna, which is known as the Bhagavad Gita. This dialogue has been handed down as part of the oral Vedic tradition in an unbroken line of knowledge for more than 5000 years. And despite such antiquity, Arjuna’s questions remain just as relevant today, because the human sense of insufficiency and desire for fulfillment are timeless. Fortunately for Arjuna and all of us, the solution is also timeless. Sri Krishna teaches him the knowledge about the ultimate truth of the Self, the essential nature of the human being, covering the topics of dharma (appropriate action to fulfill what must be done) and yoga (to do so unmoved by the results of such action) while keeping a vision of Isvara (the Cause and the Order that is the Universe) to attain moksha, final liberation from the human sense of limitation. With an unwavering dedication to the original Sanskrit and the tradition of Advaita Vedanta, Gloria Arieira unfolds the beauty and clarity of the message that is the Bhagavad Gita the very knowledge of the Self that removed Arjuna’s confusion, allowing him to rise to his feet once again.

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About the Author(s)

GLORIA ARIEIRA studied Vedanta, Sanskrit, Vedic chanting, and meditation in India between 1974 and 1978, under the guidance of Swami Dayananda Saraswati, at the Sandipani Sadhanalaya ashram in Mumbai, and in two other ashrams in Rishikesh and Uttarkashi. Her pilgrimage has led her throughout the years to several temples and holy sites around India, including Gomukh, Gangotri, Badrinath ãthe cavern where Vyasa wrote the Mahabharata ãand Jyoshimath, the center for study founded by none other than Sri Sankara himself. For more than 30 years, she has taught Vedanta and Sanskrit regularly at her center for Vedic studies, Vidya Mandir, in Rio de Janeiro, and other institutes throughout her native Brazil in Portugal. She has translated and published many books on Vedanta into Portuguese.

Astavakragita (The Song of the Self Supreme) contains the Sanskrit text of Astavakragita (both in Nagari and Roman script), its English translation, Exegesis and Glossarial Index. It presents in twenty chapters the substance of Astavakra’s teaching in respect of the Cosmic Self in the form of his dialogue with Janaka, the seer-king of Videha. The teaching is based on the Upanisadic creed of Absolute monism (Advaitavada) that identifies the Self with the non-dual Ultimate Reality. But the contribution of Astavakra is also immense, for he has introduced the element of emotional experience or the mystical feeling as the means for realizing the non-dual nature of the Self. Written in a lucid style and dealing systematically with the subject matter, the book will hold a unique position among the contemplative classics of the world.

Review(s)

The English translation is faithful to the Sanskrit original and the annotations by the editor are extremely illuminating and helpful. Altogether, this book is a treasure house of Advaita thought and should be in the hands of every sincere student of phil