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Gita: A Timeless Guide for Our Times
Isaac Bentwich, MD, translator
Adult; Spirituality/Inspirational; (Market)
GITA: A Timeless Guide for Our Time is a modern translation of the Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that has captivated many of the world’s most brilliant scientists, musicians, poets, thinkers and spiritual teachers such as Beethoven, Leonard Cohen, Carl Jung, Thoreau, Gandhi and Eckhart Tolle. For over two and a half millennia, the Gita (meaning Divine Song) has been treasured by seekers worldwide as one of the most trusted guides for spiritual inner growth. Bentwich’s new translation, which strives to make this Gita relevant to modern readers, includes Yoga Philosophy Basics, is the first translation that speaks to both women and men equally, and the only translation that recreates in English the mesmerizing melodiousness, meter and rhyme of the Sanskrit original.
Reviews
Bentwich, a meditation and yoga instructor, introduces readers to the flow and philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita in this approachable translation. The Gita, a 700-verse Sanskrit Hindu epic composed between the fifth and second centuries BCE, features a dialogue between a prince, Arjuna, and Krishna, his guide, charioteer, and divine master. While Bentwich claims this to be “the only translation that recreates in English the mesmerizing melodiousness, meter and rhyme of the Sanskrit original,” his overuse of rhyming often feels forced. Nonetheless, with his smooth Sanskrit translations—such as restating maya (normally translated “illusion”) as “nature’s veil”—Bentwich nicely updates the text compared to other translations which rely heavily on Sanskrit transliterations. Readers will benefit from the wisdom that the Gita has to offer, as well as the commentary that Bentwich provides as an introduction to each section of the text. Readers interested in the Bhagavad Gita or Hindu traditions in general will enjoy Bentwich’s fresh take on this enduring dialogue. (BookLife)
