It was well over a year and a half ago (May ‘07) that I started a fun little project that compared four different Gaudia-vaisnava versions of the Bhagavad-gita. It’s been over a year since I’ve even attempted that. Strange how time flies.

While the response wasn’t overwhelming and I’ve never had anyone approach me on the street and beg of me, “hey, when are you going to do more Gita comparisons,” I had a good time with it, so I think I’ll be starting it up again.

The four Gitas are:
-Bhagavad-gita: As It Is by Srila Prabhupada (1972 edition)
-Bhagavad-gita: It’s Feeling and Philosophy by Tripurari Swami
-Srimad Bhagavad-gita by Narayana Maharaja
-Bhagavad-gita: The Beloved Lord’s Secret Love Song by Garuda dasa (Graham Schweig)

While each Gita was translated and purported by devotees (Gaudia Vaisnavas), each did so with specific and differing goals in mind. Srila Prabhupada was introducing the west to a translation and commentary done by someone who practices what the Gita preaches. Tripurari Swami draws on the more emotional side, but never leaves the philosophical. Narayana Maharaja’s seems to be writing to a friend, also including comments by Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. Garuda dasa’s is the most different of them all, he focuses not on commentary, but on the Gita as poetry. That’s nothing new, but it’s the first time it’s been done (in a respectable way) by a devotee.

Like Garuda prabhu, I won’t be focusing upon the commentaries very much. I’ll pretty much reference them only if they specifically pertain to the verses themselves. My job is to simply compare one translation to the next and the next. Any commentary of my own that I give with be either accidental or speculative, so be mindful of that as you read.

This will be a weekly endeavor and will be posted on Sundays. I’ll be drawing verses mostly from the book Srila Prabhupada Slokas, which presents many verses that he used day-to-day. These verses, especially the Bhagavad-gita ones, seem to me to be the most helpful in our daily spiritual as well as material lives.

With four different perspectives on the same divine source, hopefully we all can find a little something to take away from it, even if you’re not a devotee or even interested in spirituality. The Bhagavad-gita, in its many translations, has been studied by all sorts of people. I’m sure you’ll discover something here.

I think I’ll focus on the third and fourth chapters for a bit. I’ll be starting with 4.38. But if you have any requests, let me know, this could be a really fun group project.

Also if there are any other gaudia-vaisnava Gitas out there, I’d love to throw them into the mix as well. I was under the impression that Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote one, but all I can find is his commentary on the Gita, not a translation of it into English. Did Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati do a Gita in English? I’d be surprised if he didn’t.

Anyway, you can see some past examples of it here.

See you Sunday!

Related posts:

1. Bhagavad-gita: We Can Only Understand Krishna Through Love (18.55)
2. Bhagavad-gita: Not by reasoning, but devotion (10.11)
3. Bhagavad-gita: In Due Course of Time (4.38)
4. Bhagavad-gita: The basis of real community (10.9)