Your website is beautiful, informative and
Excellant.
Management lessons from Holy Koran, Holy Bible and Holy Gita

Article by M.P. Bhattathiri, Retired Chief
Technical Examiner , to The Govt. of Kerala. Humble
request that it may be published in your website
and magazine after editing if necessary.

The teachings of Koran ( a man’s life is subject to inner storms far more devastating than those in the material world around him. In such storms in the bitter anguish of personal sorrow which almost removed the reason and made life seem meaningless, a new hope was born out of a systematic understanding of Koran which repeatedly warns The Believer to avoid "exceeding the limits" set by God.),The Ten Commandments, the Ten Precepts of the Buddha, and verse 16:1 of the Bhagavad Gita, all clearly state moralistic teachings for human welfare.

Mind is very restless, forceful and strong, O Krishna,
it is more difficult to control the mind than to
control the wind ~ Arjuna to Sri Krishna
Introduction
The ancient (nearly 5000 years old) Indian
philosophy of keepiing mind and body for the well
being, has entered the managerial, medical and
judicial domain of the world. Today it has found its
place as an alternative to the theory of modern
management and also as a means to bring back the right
path of peace and prosperity for the human beings. One
of the greatest contributions of India to the world is
Holy Gita which is considered to be one of the first
revelations from God. The management lessons in this
holy book were brought in to light of the world by
divine Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Swamy Chinmayananda,
and now being popularized by Swami Bodhananda, a
renowned seer and teacher of Vedanta, meditation and
values, the spiritual philosophy by Swamy Vivekananda,
the devotional philosophy by Sri Srila Prabhupada
Swami, personality development by Sri. Sri
Ravishankar, its relevance to uplift the weaker
sections by Mata Amrithanandamayi Devi, and humanism
by Sai Baba. Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita, the
essence of Vedic Literature and a complete guide to
practical life. It provides “all that is needed to
raise the consciousness of man to the highest possible
level.” , reveals the deep, universal truths of life
that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.
Arjuna got mentally depressed when he saw his
relatives with whom he has to fight.( Mental health
has become a major international public health concern
now). To motivate him the Bhagavad Gita is preached in
the battle field Kurukshetra by Lord Krishna to Arjuna
as a counseling to do his duty while multitudes of men
stood by waiting . It has got all the management
tactics to achieve the mental equilibrium and to
overcome any crisis situation. The Bhagavad Gita can
be experienced as a powerful catalyst for
transformation. Bhagavad gita means song of the
Spirit, song of the Lord. The Holy Gita has become a
secret driving force behind the unfoldment of one's
life. In the days of doubt this divine book will
support all spiritual search.This divine book will
contribute to self reflection, finer feeling and
deepen one's inner process. Then life in the world can
become a real education—dynamic, full and joyful—no
matter what the circumstance. May the wisdom of loving
consciousness ever guide us on our journey. What makes
the Holy Gita a practical psychology of transformation
is that it offers us the tools to connect with our
deepest intangible essence and we must learn to
participate in the battle of life with right
knowledge.Many great thinkers from our times such as
Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweizer
as well as Madhvacarya, Sankara and Ramanuja from
bygone ages have all contemplated on the Bhagavad Gita
and its timeless message. The primary purpose of the
Bhagavad Gita is to illuminate for all of humanity the
realization of the true nature of divinity; for the
highest spiritual conception, to motivate people to do
things in a better way, and the greatest material
perfection is to attain love of God!
The Holy Gita is the essence of the Vedas,
Upanishads. It is a universal scripture applicable to
people of all temperaments and for all times. It is a
book with sublime thoughts and practical instructions
on Yoga, Devotion, Vedanta and Action. It is profound
in thought and sublime in heights of vision. It brings
peace and solace to souls that are afflicted by the
three fires of mortal existence, namely, afflictions
caused by one’s own body (disease etc), those caused
by beings around one (e.g. wild animals, snakes etc.),
and those caused by the gods (natural disasters,
earth-quakes, floods etc).

Mind can be one's friend or enemy. Mind is the cause
for both bondage and liberation. The word mind is
derived from man to think and the word man derived
from manu (sanskrit word for man).
"The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone's heart, O
Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living
entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the
material energy."
There is no theory to be internalized and applied in
this psychology. Ancient practices spontaneously
induce what each person needs as the individual and
the universal coincide. The work proceeds through
intellectual knowledge of the playing field(jnana
yoga), emotional devotion to the ideal(bhakti yoga)
and right action that includes both feeling and
knowledge(karma yoga). With ongoing purification we
approach wisdom. The Bhagavad Gita is a message
addressed to each and every human individual to help
him or her to solve the vexing problem of overcoming
the present and progressing towards a bright future.
Within its eighteen chapters is revealed a human
drama. This is the experience of everyone in this
world, the drama of the ascent of man from a state of
utter dejection, sorrow and total breakdown and
hopelessness to a state of perfect understanding,
clarity, renewed strength and triumph.
Introduction.
Modern Management has become a necessity of everyday life, be it at family,in friend circle, in sports, in the office or factory and in Government. In all organizations, where a group of human beings assemble for a common purpose, management principles come into play through the management of resources, finance and planning, priorities, policies and practice. Management is a systematic way of carrying out activities in any field of human effort.
Its task is to make people capable of joint
performance, to make their weaknesses irrelevant, says
the Management Guru Peter Drucker. It creates harmony
in working together - equilibrium in thoughts and
actions, goals and achievements, plans and
performance, products and markets. It resolves
situations of scarcity, be they in the physical,
technical or human fields, through maximum utilization
with the minimum available processes to achieve the
goal. Lack of management causes disorder, confusion,
wastage, delay, destruction and even depression.
Managing men, money and materials in the best possible
way, according to circumstances and environment, is
the most important and essential factor for a
successful management.
Management guidelines from the Bhagavad Gita There
is an important distinction between effectiveness and
efficiency in managing.
· Effectiveness is doing the right things.
· Efficiency is doing things right.
The general principles of effective management can
be applied in every field, the differences being more
in application than in principle. The Manager's
functions can be summed up as:
· Forming a vision
· Planning the strategy to realise the
vision.
· Cultivating the art of leadership.
· Establishing institutional excellence.
· Building an innovative organisation.
· Developing human resources.
· Building teams and teamwork.
· Delegation, motivation, and communication.

· Reviewing performance and taking
corrective steps when called for.
Thus, management is a process of aligning people and
getting them committed to work for a common goal to
the maximum social benefit - in search of excellence.
The critical question in all managers’ minds is how
to be effective in their job. The answer to this
fundamental question is found in the Bhagavad Gita,
which repeatedly proclaims that “you must try to
manage yourself.” The reason is that unless a manager
reaches a level of excellence and effectiveness, he or
she will be merely a face in the crowd.
Old truths in a new context The Bhagavad Gita,
written thousands of years ago, enlightens us on all
managerial techniques leading us towards a harmonious
and blissful state of affairs in place of the
conflict, tensions, poor productivity, absence of
motivation and so on, common in most of Indian
enterprises today – and probably in enterprises in
many other countries.
The modern (Western) management concepts of vision,
leadership, motivation, excellence in work, achieving
goals, giving work meaning, decision making and
planning, are all discussed in the Bhagavad Gita.
There is one major difference. While Western
management thought too often deals with problems at
material, external and peripheral levels, the Bhagavad
Gita tackles the issues from the grass roots level of
human thinking. Once the basic thinking of man is
improved, it will automatically enhance the quality of
his actions and their results.
The management philosophy emanating from the West,
is based on the lure of materialism and on a perennial
thirst for profit, irrespective of the quality of the
means adopted to achieve that goal. This phenomenon
has its source in the abundant wealth of the West and
so 'management by materialism' has caught the fancy of
all the countries the world over, India being no
exception to this trend. My country, India, has been
in the forefront in importing these ideas mainly
because of its centuries old indoctrination by
colonial rulers, which has inculcated in us a feeling
that anything Western is good and anything Indian is
inferior.
The result is that, while huge funds have been
invested in building temples of modem management
education, no perceptible changes are visible in the
improvement of the general quality of life - although
the standards of living of a few has gone up. The same
old struggles in almost all sectors of the economy,
criminalisation of institutions, social violence,
exploitation and other vices are seen deep in the body
politic.
The source of the problem The reasons for this
sorry state of affairs are not far to seek. The
Western idea of management centres on making the
worker (and the manager) more efficient and more
productive. Companies offer workers more to work more,
produce more, sell more and to stick to the
organisation without looking for alternatives. The
sole aim of extracting better and more work from the
worker is to improve the bottom-line of the
enterprise. The worker has become a hireable
commodity, which can be used, replaced and discarded
at will.
Thus, workers have been reduced to the state of a
mercantile product. In such a state, it should come as
no surprise to us that workers start using strikes
(gheraos) sit-ins, (dharnas) go-slows, work-to-rule
etc. to get maximum benefit for themselves from the
organisations. Society-at-large is damaged. Thus we
reach a situation in which management and workers
become separate and contradictory entities with
conflicting interests. There is no common goal or
understanding. This, predictably, leads to suspicion,
friction, disillusion and mistrust, with managers and
workers at cross purposes. The absence of human values
and erosion of human touch in the organisational
structure has resulted in a crisis of confidence.
Western management philosophy may have created
prosperity – for some people some of the time at least
- but it has failed in the aim of ensuring betterment
of individual life and social welfare. It has remained
by and large a soulless edifice and an oasis of plenty
for a few in the midst of poor quality of life for
many.
Hence, there is an urgent need to re-examine
prevailing management disciplines - their objectives,
scope and content. Management should be redefined to
underline the development of the worker as a person,
as a human being, and not as a mere wage-earner. With
this changed perspective, management can become an
instrument in the process of social, and indeed
national, development.
Now let us re-examine some of the modern management
concepts in the light of the Bhagavad Gita which is a
primer of management-by-values.
Utilisation of available resources The first lesson
of management science is to choose wisely and utilise
scarce resources optimally. During the curtain raiser
before the Mahabharata War, Duryodhana chose Sri
Krishna's large army for his help while Arjuna
selected Sri Krishna's wisdom for his support. This
episode gives us a clue as to the nature of the
effective manager - the former chose numbers, the
latter, wisdom.
Work commitment A popular verse of the Gita
advises “detachment” from the fruits or results of
actions performed in the course of one's duty. Being
dedicated work has to mean “working for the sake of
work, generating excellence for its own sake.” If we
are always calculating the date of promotion or the
rate of commission before putting in our efforts, then
such work is not detached. It is not “generating
excellence for its own sake” but working only for the
extrinsic reward that may (or may not) result.
Working only with an eye to the anticipated
benefits, means that the quality of performance of the
current job or duty suffers - through mental agitation
of anxiety for the future. In fact, the way the world
works means that events do not always respond
positively to our calculations and hence expected
fruits may not always be forthcoming. So, the Gita
tells us not to mortgage present commitment to an
uncertain future.
Some people might argue that not seeking the
business result of work and actions, makes one
unaccountable. In fact, the Bhagavad Gita is full of
advice on the theory of cause and effect, making the
doer responsible for the consequences of his deeds.
While advising detachment from the avarice of selfish
gains in discharging one's accepted duty, the Gita
does not absolve anybody of the consequences arising
from discharge of his or her responsibilities.
Thus the best means of effective performance
management is the work itself. Attaining this state of
mind (called “nishkama karma”) is the right attitude
to work because it prevents the ego, the mind, from
dissipation of attention through speculation on future
gains or losses.
Motivation – self and self-transcendence It has
been presumed for many years that satisfying lower
order needs of workers - adequate food, clothing and
shelter, etc. are key factors in motivation. However,
it is a common experience that the dissatisfaction of
the clerk and of the Director is identical - only
their scales and composition vary. It should be true
that once the lower-order needs are more than
satisfied, the Director should have little problem in
optimising his contribution to the organisation and
society. But more often than not, it does not happen
like that. (“The eagle soars high but keeps its eyes
firmly fixed on the dead animal below.”) On the
contrary, a lowly paid schoolteacher, or a
self-employed artisan, may well demonstrate higher
levels of self-actualisation despite poorer
satisfaction of their lower-order needs.
This situation is explained by the theory of
self-transcendence propounded in the Gita.
Self-transcendence involves renouncing egoism, putting
others before oneself, emphasising team work, dignity,
co-operation, harmony and trust – and, indeed
potentially sacrificing lower needs for higher goals,
the opposite of Maslow.
“Work must be done with detachment.” It is the ego
that spoils work and the ego is the centrepiece of
most theories of motivation. We need not merely a
theory of motivation but a theory of inspiration.
The Great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore
(1861-1941, known as "Gurudev") says working for love
is freedom in action. A concept which is described as
“disinterested work" in the Gita where Sri Krishna
says,
“He who shares the wealth generated only after
serving the people, through work done as a sacrifice
for them, is freed from all sins. On the contrary
those who earn wealth only for themselves, eat sins
that lead to frustration and failure.”
Disinterested work finds expression in devotion,
surrender and equipoise. The former two are
psychological while the third is determination to keep
the mind free of the dualistic (usually taken to mean
"materialistic") pulls of daily experiences. Detached
involvement in work is the key to mental equanimity or
the state of “nirdwanda.” This attitude leads to a
stage where the worker begins to feel the presence of
the Supreme Intelligence guiding the embodied
individual intelligence. Such de-personified
intelligence is best suited for those who sincerely
believe in the supremacy of organisational goals as
compared to narrow personal success and achievement.
Work culture An effective work culture is about
vigorous and arduous efforts in pursuit of given or
chosen tasks. Sri Krishna elaborates on two types of
work culture – “daivi sampat” or divine work culture
and “asuri sampat” or demonic work culture.
· Daivi work culture - involves
fearlessness, purity, self-control, sacrifice,
straightforwardness, self-denial, calmness, absence of
fault-finding, absence of greed, gentleness, modesty,
absence of envy and pride.
· Asuri work culture - involves egoism,
delusion, personal desires, improper performance, work
not oriented towards service.
Mere work ethic is not enough. The hardened criminal
exhibits an excellent work ethic. What is needed is a
work ethic conditioned by ethics in work.
It is in this light that the counsel, “yogah karmasu
kausalam” should be understood. “Kausalam” means skill
or technique of work which is an indispensable
component of a work ethic. “Yogah” is defined in the
Gita itself as “samatvam yogah uchyate” meaning an
unchanging equipoise of mind (detachment.) Tilak tells
us that acting with an equable mind is Yoga.
(Bal Gangadhar Tilak, 1856-1920, the precursor of
Gandhiji, hailed by the people of India as "Lokmanya,"
probably the most learned among the country's
political leaders. For a description of the meanings
of the word "Yoga", see foot of this page.)
By making the equable mind the bed-rock of all
actions, the Gita evolved the goal of unification of
work ethic with ethics in work, for without ethical
process no mind can attain an equipoise. The guru, Adi
Sankara (born circa 800 AD), says that the skill
necessary in the performance of one's duty is that of
maintaining an evenness of mind in face of success and
failure. The calm mind in the face of failure will
lead to deeper introspection and see clearly where the
process went wrong so that corrective steps could be
taken to avoid shortcomings in future.
The principle of reducing our attachment to personal
gains from the work done is the Gita’s prescription
for attaining equanimity. It has been held that this
principle leads to lack of incentive for effort,
striking at the very root of work ethic. To the
contrary, concentration on the task for its own sake
leads to the achievement of excellence – and indeed to
the true mental happiness of the worker. Thus, while
commonplace theories of motivation may be said to lead
us to the bondage or extrinsic rewards, the Gita’s
principle leads us to the intrinsic rewards of mental,
and indeed moral, satisfaction.
Work results The Gita further explains the theory
of “detachment” from the extrinsic rewards of work in
saying:
· If the result of sincere effort is a
success, the entire credit should not be appropriated
by the doer alone.
· If the result of sincere effort is a
failure, then too the entire blame does not accrue to
the doer.
The former attitude mollifies arrogance and conceit
while the latter prevents excessive despondency,
de-motivation and self-pity. Thus both these
dispositions safeguard the doer against psychological
vulnerability, the cause of the modem managers'
companions of diabetes, high blood pressure and
ulcers.
Assimilation of the ideas of the Gita leads us to
the wider spectrum of “lokasamgraha” (general welfare)
but there is also another dimension to the work ethic
- if the “karmayoga” (service) is blended with
“bhaktiyoga” (devotion), then the work itself becomes
worship, a “sevayoga" (service for its own sake.)
Along with bhakti yoga as a means of liberation, the
Gita espouses the doctrine of nishkamya karma or pure
action untainted by hankering after the fruits
resulting from that action. Modern scientists have now
understood the intuitive wisdom of that action in a
new light.

Scientists at the US National Institute of Mental
Health in Bethesda, found that laboratory monkeys that
started out as procrastinators, became efficient
workers after they received brain injections that
suppressed a gene linked to their ability to
anticipate a reward.The scientists reported that the
work ethic of rhesus macaques wasn't all that
different from that of many people: "If the reward is
not immediate, you procrastinate", Dr Richmond told LA
Times.
(This may sound a peculiarly religious idea but it
has a wider application. It could be taken to mean
doing something because it is worthwhile, to serve
others, to make the world a better place – ed.)
Manager's mental health Sound mental health is the
very goal of any human activity - more so management.
Sound mental health is that state of mind which can
maintain a calm, positive poise, or regain it when
unsettled, in the midst of all the external vagaries
of work life and social existence. Internal constancy
and peace are the pre-requisites for a healthy
stress-free mind.
Some of the impediments to sound mental health are:
· Greed - for power, position, prestige and
money.
· Envy - regarding others' achievements,
success, rewards.
· Egotism - about one's own accomplishments.

· Suspicion, anger and frustration.
· Anguish through comparisons.
The driving forces in today's businesses are speed
and competition. There is a distinct danger that these
forces cause erosion of the moral fibre, that in
seeking the end, one permits oneself immoral means -
tax evasion, illegitimate financial holdings, being
“economical with the truth”, deliberate oversight in
the audit, too-clever financial reporting and so on.
This phenomenon may be called as “yayati syndrome”.
In the book, the Mahabharata, we come across a king
by the name of Yayati who, in order to revel in the
endless enjoyment of flesh exchanged his old age with
the youth of his obliging youngest son for a thousand
years. However, he found the pursuit of sensual
enjoyments ultimately unsatisfying and came back to
his son pleading him to take back his youth. This
“yayati syndrome” shows the conflict between
externally directed acquisitions (extrinsic
motivation) and inner value and conscience (intrinsic
motivation.)
Management needs those who practise what they preach
“Whatever the excellent and best ones do, the
commoners follow,” says Sri Krishna in the Gita. The
visionary leader must be a missionary, extremely
practical, intensively dynamic and capable of
translating dreams into reality. This dynamism and
strength of a true leader flows from an inspired and
spontaneous motivation to help others. "I am the
strength of those who are devoid of personal desire
and attachment. O Arjuna, I am the legitimate desire
in those, who are not opposed to righteousness," says
Sri Krishna in the 10th Chapter of the Gita.
In conclusion The despondency of Arjuna in the
first chapter of the Gita is typically human. Sri
Krishna, by sheer power of his inspiring words,
changes Arjuna's mind from a state of inertia to one
of righteous action, from the state of what the French
philosophers call “anomie” or even alienation, to a
state of self-confidence in the ultimate victory of
“dharma” (ethical action.)
When Arjuna got over his despondency and stood ready
to fight, Sri Krishna reminded him of the purpose of
his new-found spirit of intense action - not for his
own benefit, not for satisfying his own greed and
desire, but for the good of many, with faith in the
ultimate victory of ethics over unethical actions and
of truth over untruth.
Sri Krishna's advice with regard to temporary
failures is, “No doer of good ever ends in misery.”
Every action should produce results. Good action
produces good results and evil begets nothing but
evil. Therefore, always act well and be rewarded.
My purport is not to suggest discarding of the
Western model of efficiency, dynamism and striving for
excellence but to tune these ideals to India's
holistic attitude of “lokasangraha” - for the welfare
of many, for the good of many. There is indeed a moral
dimension to business life. What we do in business is
no different, in this regard, to what we do in our
personal lives. The means do not justify the ends.
Pursuit of results for their own sake, is ultimately
self-defeating. (“Profit,” said Matsushita-san in
another tradition, “is the reward of correct
behaviour.” – ed.)
A note on the word "yoga".
Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning
and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the
joining together or union of any two or more things.
The technical meaning is “a state of stability and
peace and the means or practices which lead to that
state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both
meanings.

M.P.Bhattathiri.

Let us go through what scholars say about Holy Gita.

"No work in all Indian literature is more quoted,
because none is better loved, in the West, than the
Bhagavad-gita. Translation of such a work demands not
only knowledge of Sanskrit, but an inward sympathy
with the theme and a verbal artistry. For the poem is
a symphony in which God is seen in all things. . . .
The Swami does a real service for students by
investing the beloved Indian epic with fresh meaning.
Whatever our outlook may be, we should all be grateful
for the labor that has lead to this illuminating
work."

Dr. Geddes MacGregor, Emeritus Distinguished Professor
of Philosophy University of Southern California

"The Gita can be seen as the main literary support for
the great religious civilization of India, the oldest
surviving culture in the world. The present
translation and commentary is another manifestation of
the permanent living importance of the Gita."

Thomas Merton, Theologian

"I am most impressed with A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada's scholarly and authoritative edition of
Bhagavad-gita. It is a most valuable work for the
scholar as well as the layman and is of great utility
as a reference book as well as a textbook. I promptly
recommend this edition to my students. It is a
beautifully done book."

Dr. Samuel D. Atkins Professor of Sanskrit, Princeton
University

"As a successor in direct line from Caitanya, the
author of Bhagavad-gita As It Is is entitled,
according to Indian custom, to the majestic title of
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
The great interest that his reading of the
Bhagavad-gita holds for us is that it offers us an
authorized interpretation according to the principles
of the Caitanya tradition."

Olivier Lacombe Professor of Sanskrit and Indology,
Sorbonne University, Paris

"I have had the opportunity of examining several
volumes published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust and
have found them to be of excellent quality and of
great value for use in college classes on Indian
religions. This is particularly true of the BBT
edition and translation of the Bhagavad-gita."

Dr. Frederick B. Underwood Professor of Religion,
Columbia University

"If truth is what works, as Pierce and the pragmatists
insist, there must be a kind of truth in the
Bhagavad-gita As It Is, since those who follow its
teachings display a joyous serenity usually missing in
the bleak and strident lives of contemporary people."

Dr. Elwin H. Powell Professor of Sociology State
University of New York, Buffalo

"There is little question that this edition is one of
the best books available on the Gita and devotion.
Prabhupada's translation is an ideal blend of literal
accuracy and religious insight."

Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins Professor of Religion, Franklin
and Marshall College

"The Bhagavad-gita, one of the great spiritual texts,
is not as yet a common part of our cultural milieu.
This is probably less because it is alien per se than
because we have lacked just the kind of close
interpretative commentary upon it that Swami
Bhaktivedanta has here provided, a commentary written
from not only a scholar's but a practitioner's, a
dedicated lifelong devotee's point of view."

Denise Levertov, Poet

"The increasing numbers of Western readers interested
in classical Vedic thought have been done a service by
Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living
interpretation of a text already known to many, he has
increased our understanding manyfold."

Dr. Edward C Dimock, Jr. Department of South Asian
Languages and Civilization University of Chicago

"The scholarly world is again indebted to A. C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Although Bhagavad-gita
has been translated many times, Prabhupada adds a
translation of singular importance with his
commentary."

Dr. J. Stillson Judah, Professor of the History of
Religions and Director of Libraries Graduate
Theological Union, Berkeley, California

"Srila Prabhupada's edition thus fills a sensitive gap
in France, where many hope to become familiar with
traditional Indian thought, beyond the commercial
East-West hodgepodge that has arisen since the time
Europeans first penetrated India.
"Whether the reader be an adept of Indian spiritualism
or not, a reading of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is will
be extremely profitable. For many this will be the
first contact with the true India, the ancient India,
the eternal India."

Francois Chenique, Professor of Religious Sciences
Institute of Political Studies, Paris, France
"It was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small
or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice
of an old intelligence which in another age and
climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same
questions which exercise us"
Emerson's reaction to the Gita

"As a native of India now living in the West, it has
given me much grief to see so many of my fellow
countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus and
spiritual leaders. For this reason, I am very excited
to see the publication of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by
Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It will help
to stop the terrible cheating of false and
unauthorized 'gurus' and 'yogis' and will give an
opportunity to all people to understand the actual
meaning of Oriental culture."

Dr. Kailash Vajpeye, Director of Indian Studies Center
for Oriental Studies, The University of Mexico
"The Gita is one of the clearest and most
comprehensive one, of the summaries and systematic
spiritual statements
of the perennial philosophy ever to have been done"
__________________________________________Aldous
Huxley

"It is a deeply felt, powerfully conceived and
beautifully explained work. I don't know whether to
praise more this translation of the Bhagavad-gita, its
daring method of explanation, or the endless fertility
of its ideas. I have never seen any other work on the
Gita with such an important voice and style. . . . It
will occupy a significant place in the intellectual
and ethical life of modern man for a long time to
come."

Dr. Shaligram Shukla Professor of Linguistics,
Georgetown University

"I can say that in the Bhagavad-gita As It Is I have
found explanations and answers to questions I had
always posed regarding the interpretations of this
sacred work, whose spiritual discipline I greatly
admire. If the aesceticism and ideal of the apostles
which form the message of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is
were more widespread and more respected, the world in
which we live would be transformed into a better, more
fraternal place."

Dr. Paul Lesourd, Author Professeur Honoraire,
Catholic University of Paris

"When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how
God created this universe everything else seems so
superfluous."

Albert Einstein

"When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me
in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the
horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to
comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the
midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on
the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from
it every day."

Mahatma Gandhi

"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous
and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in
comparison with which our modern world and its
literature seem puny and trivial."

Henry David Thoreau

"The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the
spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is
manifested by actions."

Dr. Albert Schweitzer

"The Bhagavad-Gita is a true scripture of the human
race a living creation rather than a book, with a new
message for every age and a new meaning for every
civilization."

Sri Aurobindo

"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems
to have been current in by gone ages. The link with
Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus
in which it states 'behold we are not an earthly but a
heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by
what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of
Bhagavad-Gita."

Carl Jung

"The Bhagavad-Gita deals essentially with the
spiritual foundation of human existence. It is a call
of action to meet the obligations and duties of life;
yet keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander
purpose of the universe."

Prime Minister Nehru

"The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly
beautiful revelation of life's wisdom which enables
philosophy to blossom into religion."

Herman Hesse

"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was
the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to
us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene,
consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in
another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed
of the same questions which exercise us."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In order to approach a creation as sublime as the
Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary
to attune our soul to it."

Rudolph Steiner

"From a clear knowledge of the Bhagavad-Gita all the
goals of human existence become fulfilled.
Bhagavad-Gita is the manifest quintessence of all the
teachings of the Vedic scriptures."

Adi Shankara

"The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of
spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It
is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries
of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its
enduring value is subject not only to India but to all
of humanity."

Aldous Huxley

"The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to
reveal the science of devotion to God which is the
essence of all spiritual knowledge. The Supreme Lord
Krishna's primary purpose for descending and
incarnating is relieve the world of any demoniac and
negative, undesirable influences that are opposed to
spiritual development, yet simultaneously it is His
incomparable intention to be perpetually within reach
of all humanity."

Ramanuja

The Bhagavad-Gita is not seperate from the Vaishnava
philosophy and the Srimad Bhagavatam fully reveals the
true import of this doctrine which is transmigation of
the soul. On perusal of the first chapter of
Bhagavad-Gita one may think that they are advised to
engage in warfare. When the second chapter has been
read it can be clearly understood that knowledge and
the soul is the ultimate goal to be attained. On
studying the third chapter it is apparent that acts of
righteousness are also of high priority. If we
continue and patiently take the time to complete the
Bhagavad-Gita and try to ascertain the truth of its
closing chapter we can see that the ultimate
conclusion is to relinquish all the conceptualized
ideas of religion which we possess and fully surrender
directly unto the Supreme Lord.

Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati

"The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients
necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that
within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the
Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and
pollen is the essence of flowers."

Madhvacarya
Yoga has two different meanings - a general meaning
and a technical meaning. The general meaning is the
joining together or union of any two or more things.
The technical meaning is “a state of stability and
peace and the means or practices which lead to that
state." The Bhagavad Gita uses the word with both
meanings. Lord Krishna is real Yogi who can
maintain a peaceful mind in the midst of any crisis."

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi.


Prajnanam Brahma
Consciousness is Brahman
(Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, of Rg Veda)

Other Translations: Brahman is pure consciousness;
Brahman is knowing; Brahman is intelligence

In the sentence, ‘Prajnanam Brahma’ or Consciousness
is Brahman, a definition of Reality is given. The
best definition of Brahman would be to give expression
to its supra-essential essence, and not to describe it
with reference to accidental attributes, such as
creatorship etc. That which is ultimately responsible
for all our sensory activities, as seeing, hearing,
etc., is Consciousness. Though Consciousness does not
directly see or hear, it is impossible to have these
sensory operations without it. Hence it should be
considered as the final meaning of our mental and
physical activities. Brahman is that which is
Absolute, fills all space, is complete in itself, to
which there is no second, and which is continuously
present in everything, from the creator down to the
lowest of matter. It, being everywhere, is also in
each and every individual. This is the meaning of
Prajnanam Brahma occurring in the Aitareya
Upanishad.**





Ayam Atma Brahma
This Self is Brahman
(Mandukya Upanishad 1.2, of Atharva Veda)

Other Translations: Brahman is this Self; This Self
is Brahma

The Mahavakya, ‘Ayam Atma Brahma’ or ‘This Self is
Brahman,’ occurs in the Mandukya Upanishad. ‘Ayam’
means ‘this,’ and here ‘thisness’ refers to the
self-luminous and non-mediate nature of the Self,
which is internal to everything, from the Ahamkara or
ego down to the physical body. This Self is Brahman,
which is the substance out of which all things are
really made. That which is everywhere, is also within
us, and what is within us is everywhere. This is
called ‘Brahman,’ because it is plenum, fills all
space, expands into all existence, and is vast beyond
all measure of perception or knowledge. On account of
self-luminosity, non-relativity and universality,
Atman and Brahman are the same. This identification
of the Self with Absolute is not any act of bringing
together two differing natures, but is an affirmation
that absoluteness or universality includes everything,
and there is nothing outside it.**





Tat Tvam Asi
Thou art that
(Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, of Sama Veda,
Kaivalya Upanishad)

Other Translations: That is how you are; That art
thou

In the Chandogya Upanishad occurs the Mahavakya,
‘Tat Tvam Asi’ or ‘That thou art.’ Sage Uddalaka
mentions this nine times, while instructing his
disciple Svetaketu in the nature of Reality. That
which is one alone without a second, without name and
form, and which existed before creation, as well as
after creation, as pure Existence alone, is what is
referred to as Tat or That, in this sentence. The
term Tvam stands for that which is in the innermost
recesses of the student or the aspirant, but which is
transcendent to the intellect, mind, senses, etc., and
is the real 'I' of the student addressed in the
teaching. The union of Tat and Tvam is by the term
Asi or are. That Reality is remote is a
misconception, which is removed by the instruction
that it is within one’s own self. The erroneous
notion that the Self is limited is dispelled by the
instruction that it is the same as Reality.**






Aham Brahmasmi
I am Brahman.
(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, of Yajur Veda,
Mahanarayana Upanishad)

In the sentence, ‘Aham Brahmasmi,’ or I am Brahman,
the ‘I’ is that which is the One Witnessing
Consciousness, standing apart form even the intellect,
different from the ego-principle, and shining through
every act of thinking, feeling, etc. This
Witness-Consciousness, being the same in all, is
universal, and cannot be distinguished from Brahman,
which is the Absolute. Hence the essential ‘I’ which
is full, super-rational and resplendent, should be the
same as Brahman. This is not the identification of
the limited individual ‘I’ with Brahman, but it is the
Universal Substratum of individuality that is asserted
to be what it is. The copula ‘am’ does not signify
any empirical relation between two entities, but
affirms the non-duality of essence. This dictum is
from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad.**

Karma, Bhakti, and Jnana are but three paths to
this end. And common to all the three is renunciation.
Renounce the desires, even of going to heaven, for
every desire related with body and mind creates
bondage. Our focus of action is neither to save the
humanity nor to engage in social reforms, not to seek
personal gains, but to realize the indwelling Self
itself.
Swami Vivekananda (England, London; 1895-96 )

"Science describes the structures and processess;
philosophy attempts at their explaination.-----
When such a perfect combination of both science and
philosophy is sung to perfection that Krishna was,
we have in this piece of work an appeal both to the
head annd heart. " ____________Swamy Chinmayanand on
Gita

I seek that Divine Knowledge by knowing which
nothing remains to be known!' For such a person
knowledge and ignorance has only one meaning: Have you
knowledge of God? If yes, you a Jnani! If not, you are
ignorant.As said in the Gita, chapter XIII/11,
knowledge of Self, observing everywhere the object of
true Knowledge i.e. God, all this is declared to be
true Knowledge (wisdom); what is contrary to this is
ignorance."
Sri Ramakrishna .
Maharishi calls the Bhagavad-Gita the essence of
Vedic Literature and a complete guide to practical
life. It provides “all that is needed to raise the
consciousness of man to the highest possible level.”
Maharishi reveals the deep, universal truths of life
that speak to the needs and aspirations of everyone.
Maharshi Mahesh Yogi
The Gita was preached as a preparatory lesson for
living worldly life with an eye to Release, Nirvana.
My last prayer to everyone, therefore, is that one
should not fail to thoroughly understand this ancient
science of worldly life as early as possible in one’s
life.
--- Lokmanya Tilak
I believe that in all the living languages of the
world, there is no book so full of true knowledge, and
yet so handy. It teaches self-control, austerity,
non-violence, compassion, obedience to the call of
duty for the sake of duty, and putting up a fight
against unrighteousness (Adharma). To my knowledge,
there is no book in the whole range of the world’s
literature so high above as the Bhagavad-Gita, which
is the treasure-house of Dharma nor only for the
Hindus but foe all mankind.
--- M. M. Malaviya


ref. bbt.org, kamakoti.org, amritapuri.org,
mahrshi.com, sai.org,chinmaya.org,
vivekanada.org,neovedanta/gospel.com,spirituality.indiatimes.com