Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House

We live in a world that functions by seeming ‘dualism’, a perspective that keeps us in bondage. In this book, dualism is addressed and shown to be illusionary, since every pair of opposites implies a third element: the notion of a difference implied by both opposites.

The Original Gita, which predates the Bhagavad Gita, focuses on the basic philosophical and practical essentials of life and living. Here dualism is addressed and shown to be illusionary, since every pair of opposites implies a third element: the notion of a different implied by both opposites. The discussion of what is an ever-present ‘difference’ in such a triunity and how it impacts everything we perceive is pivotal to awakening to a new dimension of observation. It is in the unseen difference that we become aware of opposites, such as long-short, day-night, true-false.

In the first part of the book, the questions-What is thought? What is space-time? What is life-death? – are examined in concise form to give a foundation for the understanding of the philosophy of the Gita. Using this basis of Eastern wisdom, the author comments on the 209 verses of The Original Gita, and a Sanskrit-to-English translation is given of the related 319 verses in the classic Bhagavad Gita that correspond to these verses; these 319 verses can therefore be considered as the core of the Bhagavad Gita. There is no reference in The Original Gita to the battle fought by the Bharatas, nor is there support for the caste system, which were interpolations added later to the Bhagavad Gita. The book includes a glossary for clarification of a number of germane Sanskrit terms, a bibliography, and an index.

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About the Author(s)

Dr. Gerard D. C. Kuiken received his Ph.D. from the Delft University of Technology, where he lectured in the fields of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. He is the author of Thermodynamics of Irreversible Processes: Applications to Diffusion and Rheology, published by John Wiley & Sons. He has studied yoga since his youth, and resides in both The Hague in The Netherlands, and Santa barbara in California, USA.