THE BHAGAVAD GITA COMES ALIVE: A Radical Translation

TheBhagavad Gita isIndia’s most celebrated and enlightening spiritual text. Set over 7,500 yearsago on the verge of an epic battle, the Gita is a unique and enthrallingphilosophical conversation between the Supreme Being Shri Krishna and his dearfriend, the mighty warrior Arjuna.

Althoughthere have been hundreds of English translations of the Bhagavad Gita since1785, poet and scholar Jeffrey Armstrong’s The Bhagavad Gita Comes Alive: ARadical Translation is the first version to decolonize the language andbring this monumental text back to its Sanskrit roots and its deep spiritualintent.

Thedifference is transformative. It has not come easily.

For over a decade, Armstrong (Kavindra Rishi) hasstriven to free the Bhagavad Gita from the misuse and limitation of hundreds ofEnglish words that do not explain, let alone reveal, the text’s originalbreadth and meaning. A few of the translated words on trial are old standbyslike God, Lord, heaven, hell, sin, religion, angel, demi-god, sacrifice, idol,faith, and charity, and on and on.

Byexploring this ancient text in a new way, Armstrong’s goal with his radicaltranslation of the Gita is to allow the reader—whether a devotee, scholar, orlayperson—to come away with a deeper, nuanced, and celebratory understanding ofwhat Shri Krishna was softly, beautifully, and clearly explaining to his greatand devoted friend, Arjuna.

The conversation they share reveals in itsoriginal meaning an entirely different experience of the possible relationshipbetween the Supreme Being and a devotee and offers powerful ideas on what itmeans to be human. In this way, The Bhagavad Gita Comes Alive: A RadicalTranslation is essential reading for all who want to understand the deepertruths of Vedic wisdom, the potential of eternal love and the mysteries ofexistence.