MY GITA Paperback – November 11, 2015

I could surely relate to this retelling of the Gita. It has helped me stay calm and accept certain things in my life.

If you are studying The Gita with a teacher, or already have a strong familiarity with it, this makes and interesting and thought provoking supplement.It is helpful to think of the teachings in terms of themes, not just in terms of what is said, in chapter 1, what is said in chapter 6 (verse seven), etc.As someone who does not read Sanskrit, it was also useful for me to not have to worry about comparing translations. I can simply trust that the author knows how to translate Sanskrit, and not worry about what each individual verse says.As with most philosophical and spiritual teachings, context is important, more important than the meanings of individual versus, or even the meanings of entire chapters.This book provides that context.That said, some of the assertions in this book contradict what my teacher has taught me. I don’t see this as a failing. It just makes me more aware and more curious and gives me more questions to ask. Asking questions is one of the main jobs of a student.

Narration in the book is not biased to any particular stream of religious or political ideology. This is the best narration of Gita in a contemporary form which will not only appeal to those who are reading about Bhagvad Gita for the first time, but also give new profound perspectives to those who have already read the Gita and commentaries on it. Devdutt calls it "My Gita" which very interestingly explains at every stage how different meanings could be drawn from the verses by people of different thought processes or mindsets, from different historical and cultural backgrounds. I have never come across any modern age book on Gita that puts this perspective the way Devdutt puts it. Still this book becomes more enjoyable if you have already read Gita sequentially in the verse by verse translation format. It puts smiles on your face and mesmerizes you as you find new perspectives and deeper meanings to many of those same verses, surprising yourself thinking "Oh God, I had never thought of it this way!". He has explained many concepts like Yagya, Yoga, Nishkam Karma Yoga, Advaita, Dvaita and much more in very simple words with real life examples and their historical roots making the book quite entertaining for the youth, yet appreciable to already well read and knowledgeable. I am grateful that Devdutt chose to write this book in this way which I believe is enriching my life as I read it again and again.

I love that he added cultural contexts from other cultures and religions at the time. I also appreciate how he structured this Gita around themes and paraphrased the essence of various popular passages, while clearly stating which passage he paraphrased - if someone wants to refer to the original. This Gita made a lot of sense to me.That said, I’ll still need to go back to it again. Themes like empathy and engaging with the other made intuitive sense to me, but the influence of the three gunas for example, and the understanding that we are all players in a game- that did not come across lucidly to me.I also liked that he explained that maya derives from measurement- something a notable mythologist like only devdutt pattnaik would do. This shift from thinking of maya as an illusion - which is the popular notion- to anything that can be measured, was an important learning for me in how we can think of God in Hinduism as the one who cannot be measured.

The book is not a religious discourse. It explains beautifully how GITA is applicable to everyone irrespective of their personal disposition or stance.

Very interesting

Nice illustrative way of explaining complex topics. But the themes are not consistent or sequenced. Good for begginers of Gita

Really enjoyed the book and the way concepts are broken down and explained. The visuals on timelines and stuff definitely helps to understand the time period.