Translated by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood

The most popular book in Hindu religious literature; the Gospel, one may say, of India. It has profoundly influenced the spiritual, cultural, intellectual and political life of the country throughout the centuries, and it continues to do so today. Every westerner should study it if he wants to understand the mental processes of India's thinkers and leaders. The date of the Gita is generally placed by scholars somewhere between the fifth and second centuries, B.C. Here are a few lines from this masterpiece...

"When can a man be said to have achieved union with Brahman? (God) When his mind is under perfect control and freed from all desires, so that he becomes absorbed in the Atman (Individual and Universal Spirit), and nothing else. "The light of a lamp does not flicker in a windless place": that is the simile which describes a yogi of one-pointed mind, who meditates upon the Atman. When, through the practice of yoga, the mind ceases its restless movements, and becomes still, he realizes the Atman. It satisfies him entirely. Then he knows that infinite happiness which can be realized by the purified heart but is beyond the grasp of the senses. He stands firm in this realization. Because of it, he can never again wander from the inmost truth of his being.

Now that he holds it
He knows this treasure
Above all others:
Faith so certain
Shall never be shaken
By heaviest sorrow.

To achieve this certainty is to know the real meaning of the word yoga. It is the breaking of contact with pain."

I recently began reading the Bhagavad-Gita during a very difficult transition in my life. I went through moments of great fear and uncertainty as I allowed myself to let go of the old and certain path I was on to awaken to a new and uncertain path full of enrichment and growth. This book has been one of the greatest supports throughout this time. I have found great comfort in the words and wisdom of the Bhagavad-Gita and it has helped me to find security and confidence within myself in the moments when I've felt more insecure than any other time I can remember. Here are a few more lines:

"The man of faith,
Whose heart is devoted,
Whose senses are mastered:
He finds Brahman. (God)
Enlightened, he passes
At once to the highest,
The peace beyond passion."

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