The Bhagavad-Gita is a Sanskrit poem and the essence of the Vedic knowledge (the old writings that compose the base of Hindu philosophy and spirituality)

This poem is from the epic-religious MahaBharata, and comprises 700 verses divided into 18 chapters of the Bhishma-Pile, the sixth book of said epic where gather the Vedic, Yogi, Vedanta and Tantric philosophies.

Upon being a practical summary of the 108 Upanishad, it is called also Gitopanishad (or also Gita-upanishad).

Upon being a practical summary of the 108 Upanishad, it is called also Gitopanishad (or also Gita-upanishad).

It is one of the oldest books existing, and that speaks us of metaphysics and oriental philosophy, coinciding amazingly with the most recent theories of the quantic physics and the astrophysics, like the structure of the universe, or the energetic nature and the theory of the matter.

The principal meaning of the poem is to remove the ignorance from the humanity, elevating us from the basics of the knowledge toward the top of the Absolute Truth.

This old work internal itself in the knowledge of five basics truths: The existence of the Krishna, the absolute truth and then the existence of the "jivas", or living entities. Also it discusses "prakriti" (the material nature, the time) and the "karma" (the activity).

Originally it was transmitted as an oral story. Subsequently its teachings were presented 5000 years ago by the great wise Vyasadeva.

The Bhagavad-Gita describes the teachings of Sri Krishn (who is the main figure) to his friend and student rjuna.

Therefore it is said that the Gia is the Krishna himself, since contains his fundamental precepts.

In this epic, Visnh, in its 8 incarnation as Krishna, proclaims himself as Bhagavan ("a God that all covers"), showing his eternal and divine form to his student

Arjuna is a warrior of the clan of the Pandavas, and he is found full of doubts before the battle that should confront to his cousins of the clan Kaurava; doubts that are revealed to Sri Krishna and that this he responds wisely, being this answers the content of the poems, that is full contained by spiritual meaning and ethic content.

The first chapter of the Gita speaks purely of the doubts of Arjuna before his future battles, and the following chapters contain the teachings of Sri Krishna thru Yoga. But instead of the Yoga of "asanas" (physical positions), is Yoga as philosophic doctrine that aspires to the union of the soul with God, a road of improvement, of inner development in which knowledge and wisdom are the most important links to reach the inner illumination and the harmony body-mind-spirit.

The chapters are the following:

• Arjuna's prostration;
• The yoga by the Samkhya;
• The yoga of the action;
• The Yoga of the wisdom,
• The yoga of the renunciation of the action;
• The yoga of the self-control;
• The yoga of the clear discernment;
• The yoga of the eternal, supreme and indestructible;
• The yoga of the science and supreme secrets;
• The yoga of the yoga sovereignty;
• The Yoga of the division of the supreme form;
• The yoga of the devotion;
• The yoga of the distinction between the field and the expert of the field;
• The yoga of the separation of the three "gunas";
• The yoga of the union with the Supreme Being;
• The yoga of the division between the divine thing and the demonic thing;
• The yoga of the division according to the gunas;
• Yoga of the the liberation thru renunciation

The first chapter of the Gita can confuse many people not familiarized with the Vedic knowledge, upon trying a delicate theme as is the war and the death, and to the fact that Krishna encourages Arjuna to fight ("Raise and fight") But what we must understand is the symbolism that encloses the teaching to be transmitted. Basically, the purpose of the story of the battle is the following :

A) Krishna teaches that every person has to assume its Dharma (obligation) however difficult this may be.
B) Every person, still in the worst circumstances, should be maintained without hatred, without grudge, without desires of revenge and without ire.
B) Every person, still in the worst circumstances, should be maintained without hatred, without grudge, without desires of revenge and without ire.

We can easily to identify us with the Arjuna, with our doubts and fears, and the knowledge that Krishna gives, is then, the one that he would give to any person, to teach us how to live.. The fight of Arjuna to obtain a city of is the fight of any human by obtaining his own evolution. Thus the doubts appear, the fears, the anguishes, the pride, the envy, the passion, the lie, the human miseries in general and them obliged questionings: who I am?, what is death?, where do we go?, what is the evolution of the man? Where we come from? why we exist? Where do we go after death? Which are our obligations in this world? What happens in other planets? What is the happiness and true knowledge?

Krishna gives us clear instructions to all kinds of problems that are presented in our lives.

The Bhagavad Gita is the highest expression of philosophical Hinduism. It is a sacred book inside another book. So sacred that Hindus consider that reading it "every sin is destroyed and the virtues are created". Even though when we open the Mahabharata, there is an affirmation that the fact of reciting a single stanza is "sufficient to erase a lot of the bad thing".

As a classic of the wisdom and the spirituality of every time, its influence is not limited only to India. The Bhagavad Gita, has affected deeply the thought of generations of philosophers, theologians, educators, scientific and authors of the western world as Platon, Saint Augustine, Pascal, Newton, Leibnitz, Kant, Schopenhauer, Hegel, Goethe, Hesse, C. Jung, Einstein, Prahbupada, Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Aurobindo

Mahatma Gandhi once said: "The Bhagavad Gita has been always a source of comfort for me. At a time when did not perceived any comforting perspective, I opened the Gita and found that verse that gave me new hopes" "The Bhagavad-Gita is not only my Bible or my Koran, is more than that, it is my mother. My earthly mother, the one that gave me the being, I lost her long time ago, but her position has being occupied her since then completely by this eternal mother. Each time that difficulties burden me or the suffering afflicts me, I seek refuge in their chest."

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "I owe a magnificent day to the Bhagavad Gita; it was the first one of the books; was as if an empire spoke us; neither small or undeserving , but on the contrary majestic, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence that in another times and climate examined and resolved the same questions that today move us".

Wilhelm von Humboldt said: "The deepest and highest the world can show us. I thank God that permitted me to live as much time as so that I could read the Bhagavad Gita"

Arthur Schopenhauer said: "The most educational and high one of all the readings that is possible to find in this world"

Henry Thoreau said: "Every morning I wash my intellect with the stupendous and cosmogonist philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita. Compared with their teaching, our civilization and modern literature seem me stingy and trivial."

I believe that The Bhagavad Gita is not only a book to study and to understand the Hindu philosophy, but also a book of valid teachings for any culture, thanks to its great spiritual and philosophic contributions.

I found this page very interesting.
Is a translation of the Bhagavad-Gita, including the original sanskit.

This is another translation by another author

An here you can find several books about Bhagavad Gita, different translations and studies: